H.R. 5749 – Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today's Youth Act (SA…

109th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 5749

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 10, 2006

Mr. Foley (for himself and Mr. Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect youth from exploitation by adults using the Internet, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today’s Youth Act (SAFETY) of 2006.

Financial facilitation of access to child pornography

(a)

Offense

Chapter 95 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

1960A.

Financial facilitation of access to child pornography

Whoever knowingly conducts, or attempts or conspires to conduct, a financial transaction (as defined in section 1956(c)) in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, knowing that such transaction will facilitate access to, or the possession of, child pornography (as defined in section 2256) shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

(b)

Clerical amendment

The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 95 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

1960A. Financial facilitation of access to child pornography.

Child exploitation enterprises

Section 2252A of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

(g)

Child exploitation enterprises

(1)

Whoever engages in a child exploitation enterprise shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for any term of years not less than 20 or for life.

(2)

A person engages in a child exploitation enterprise for the purposes of this section if the person violates section 1466A, 1470, or 1591, section 1201 if the victim is a minor, or chapter 110 or 117, as a part of a series of felony violations constituting three or more separate incidents and commits those offenses in concert with three or more other persons.

Increased penalties for registered sex offenders

(a)

Offense

Chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

2260A.

Increased penalties for registered sex offenders

Whoever, being required by Federal or other law to register as a sex offender, commits a felony offense involving a minor under section 1201, 1466A, 1470, or 1591, or chapter 110 or 117 shall be fined under this title and imprisoned 10 years, or both, in addition to the imprisonment imposed for the offense under that provision. The sentence imposed under this section shall be consecutive to any sentence imposed for the offense under that provision.

(b)

Clerical amendment

The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

2260A. Increased penalties for registered sex offenders.

Internet facilitation of child pornography and exploitation of children

(a)

Offense

Chapter 95 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

1960B.

Internet facilitation of child pornography and exploitation of children

(a)

Offense

Whoever, being an Internet content hosting provider or email service provider, knowingly engages in any conduct the provider knows or has reason to believe facilitates access to, or the possession of, child pornography (as defined in section 2256) shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.

(b)

Definitions

As used in this section—

(1)

the term Internet content hosting provider means a service that—

(A)

stores, through electromagnetic or other means, electronic data, including the content of web pages, electronic mail, documents, images, audio and video files, online discussion boards, and weblogs; and

(B)

makes such data available via the Internet

(2)

the term email service provider means a person that—

(A)

provides a service, using the Internet, for the transmission, receipt, storage, and retrieval, by registered users, of electronic mail messages; and

(B)

receives the content of, and recipient list for, electronic mail messages that it transmits, receives, or stores for the person or entity procuring such services.

(b)

Clerical amendment

The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 95 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

1960B. Internet facilitation of child pornography and exploitation of children.

Child pornography reporting

(a)

Child Pornography Reporting

Section 227(b)(4) of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13032(b)(4)) is amended to read as follows:

(4)

Failure to report

(A)

Knowing failure

A provider of electronic communication services or remote computing services described in paragraph (1) who knowingly fails to make a report under that paragraph shall be fined—

(i)

in the case of an initial failure to make a report, not more than $150,000; and

(ii)

in the case of any second or subsequent failure to make a report, not more than $300,000.

(B)

Negligent failure

A provider of electronic communication services or remote computing services described in paragraph (1) who negligently fails to make a report under that paragraph shall be subject to a civil penalty of—

(i)

in the case of an initial failure to make a report, not more than $50,000; and

(ii)

in the case of any second or subsequent failure to make a report, not more than $100,000.

(C)

Authority

For the purposes of this paragraph, the Federal Communications Commission—

(i)

may levy civil penalties under subparagraph (B); and

(ii)

shall promulgate regulations, in consultation with the Attorney General, to—

(I)

effectuate the purposes of subparagraph (B); and

(II)

provide for appropriate administrative review of any civil penalties levied under that subparagraph.

Deception by embedded words or images

(a)

In general

Chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 225B the following:

2252C.

Misleading words or digital images on the Internet

(a)

In General

Whoever knowingly embeds words or digital images into the source code of a website with the intent to deceive a person into viewing material constituting obscenity shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not less than 2 years nor more than 10 years.

(b)

Minors

Whoever knowingly embeds words or digital images into the source code of a website with the intent to deceive a minor into viewing material harmful to minors on the Internet shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not less than 5 years nor more than 20 years.

(c)

Construction

For the purposes of this section, a word or digital image that clearly indicates the sexual content of the site, such as sex or porn, is not misleading.

(d)

Definitions

As used in this section—

(1)

the terms material that is harmful to minors and sex have the meaning given such terms in section 2252B; and

(2)

the term source code means the combination of text and other characters comprising the content, both viewable and nonviewable, of a web page, including any website publishing language, programming language, protocol or functional content, as well as any successor languages or protocols.

(b)

Table of sections

The table of sections for chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 2252B the following:

2252C. Misleading words or digital images on the Internet.

Requirement to place warning marks on commercial websites containing sexually explicit material

(a)

Definitions

As used in this section—

(1)

the term Commission means the Federal Trade Commission;

(2)

the term website means any collection of material placed in a computer server-based file archive so that it is publicly accessible, over the Internet, using hypertext transfer protocol or any successor protocol except that the term does not include any collection of material where access to sexually explicit material is restricted to a specific set of individuals through the provision of a password or through another access restriction mechanism;

(3)

the term sexually explicit material means any material that depicts sexually explicit conduct (as that term is defined in subsection (2)(A) of section 2256 of title 18, United States Code), unless the depiction constitutes a small and insignificant part of the whole, the remainder of which is not primarily devoted to sexual matters;

(4)

the term Internet means the combination of computer facilities and electromagnetic transmission media, and related equipment and software, comprising the interconnected worldwide network of computer networks that employ the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol or any successor protocol to transmit information; and

(5)

the term Internet access service—

(A)

means a service that enables users to access content, information, electronic mail, or other services offered over the Internet, and may also include access to proprietary content, information, and other services as part of a package of services offered to consumers; and

(B)

does not include telecommunications services.

(b)

Labeling Requirement

Except as provided in subsection (d), no person who operates a website that is primarily operated for commercial purposes, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, may knowingly, and with knowledge of the character of the material, place on that website sexually explicit material, and fail—

(1)

to include on each page of the website that contains sexually explicit material, the marks and notices prescribed by the Commission under subsection (c); or

(2)

to ensure that the matter on the website that is initially viewable, absent any further actions by the viewer, does not include any sexually explicit material.

(c)

Prescription of Marks and Notices

Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall, in consultation with the Attorney General, establish by regulation clearly identifiable marks or notices to be included in the code, if technologically feasible, or if not feasible on the pages, of websites that contain sexually explicit material in order to inform the viewer of that fact and to facilitate the filtering of such pages.

(d)

Inapplicability to Carriers and Other Service Providers

This section shall not apply to a person, to the extent that such person is—

(1)

a telecommunications carrier engaged in the provision of a telecommunications service;

(2)

a person engaged in the business of providing an Internet access service; or

(3)

similarly engaged in the transmission, storage, retrieval, hosting, formatting, or translation (or any combination thereof) of a communication made by another person, without selection or alteration of the content of the communication, and such person’s deletion of a particular communication or material made by another person in a manner consistent with any applicable law or regulation shall not constitute selection or alteration of the content of the communication.

(e)

Penalties

Whoever violates subsection (b) shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both.

RICO predicates

Section 1961(1) is amended—

(1)

by inserting 1466A (relating to obscene visual representation of the abuse of children), after sections 1461–1465 (relating to obscene matter),;

(2)

by inserting 1960A (relating to financial facilitation of access to child pornography), 1960B (relating to Internet facilitation of child pornography and exploitation of children), after section 1958 (relating to use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire),; and

(3)

by inserting 2252A (relating to child pornography), 2260A (relating to increased penalties for registered sex offenders), before sections 2312.

10.

Money laundering predicate

Section 1956(c)(7)(D) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1)

by inserting 1466A (relating to obscene visual representation of the abuse of children), before section 1708;

(2)

1960A (relating to financial facilitation of access to child pornography), 1960B (relating to Internet facilitation of child pornography and exploitation of children), before section 2113; and

(3)

by inserting 2252A (relating to child pornography), 2260A (relating to increased penalties for registered sex offenders), before section 2280.

11.

Masha’s Law

Section 2255 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a)

Any person aggrieved by a violation of section 2241(c), 2242, 2251, 2251A, 2252, 2252A, 2260, 2421, 2422, or 2423 may in a civil action obtain appropriate relief.

(b)

An action under this section is barred if the complaint is filed more than 10 years after the right of action accrues.

12.

Increased penalties for certain offenses

Sections 2252(b)(1) and 2252A(b)(1) of title 18, United States Code, are each amended—

(1)

by striking 5 years and inserting 10 years; and

(2)

by striking 20 years and inserting 30 years.

13.

Office on Sexual Violence and Crimes Against Children

(a)

Establishment

There is established within the Department of Justice, under the general authority of the Attorney General, an Office on Sexual Violence and Crimes against Children (hereinafter in this subtitle referred to as the Office).

(b)

Director

The Office shall be headed by a Director who shall be appointed by the President. The Director shall report to the Attorney General through the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs and shall have final authority for all grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts awarded by the Office. The Director shall not engage in any employment other than that of serving as the Director, nor shall the Director hold any office in, or act in any capacity for, any organization, agency, or institution with which the Office makes any contract or other arrangement.

(c)

Duties and functions

The Office is authorized to—

(1)

administer the standards for sex offender registration and notification programs set forth in this title;

(2)

administer grant programs relating to sex offender registration and notification authorized by this title and other grant programs authorized by this title as directed by the Attorney General;

(3)

cooperate with and provide technical assistance to States, units of local government, tribal governments, and other public and private entities involved in activities related to sex offender registration or notification or to other measures for the protection of children or other members of the public from sexual abuse or exploitation; and

(4)

perform such other functions as the Attorney General may delegate.

14.

Additional prosecutors for offenses relating to the sexual exploitation of children

(a)

Additional prosecutors

In fiscal year 2007, the Attorney General shall, subject to the availability of appropriations for such purpose, increase by not less than 200 the number of attorneys in the United States Attorneys’ offices to prosecute offenses relating to the sexual exploitation of children.

(b)

Definition

For purposes of this section, the term offenses relating to the sexual exploitation of children shall include any offense committed in violation of—

(1)

section 1201(g) of title 18, United States Code;

(2)

chapter 71 of title 18, United States Code, involving an obscene visual depiction of a minor, or transfer of obscene materials to a minor;

(3)

section 1591 of title 18, United States Code, involving a person who has not attained the age of 18 years;

(4)

chapter 109A of title 18, United States Code, involving a sexual act or sexual contact with a minor, or sexual abuse of a minor;

(5)

chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code; or

(6)

chapter 117 of title 18, United States Code, involving coercion or enticement of a minor, transportation of a minor, or transmittal of information about a minor.

(c)

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Justice for fiscal year 2007 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.

15.

Additional ICAC Task Forces

(a)

Additional Task Forces

In fiscal year 2007, the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention shall, subject to the availability of appropriations for such purpose, increase by not less than 20 the number of Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces that are part of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program authorized and funded under title IV of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5771 et seq.).

(b)

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for fiscal year 2007 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.

16.

Grants for child sexual abuse prevention programs

(a)

In general

The Attorney General shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, make grants to States, units of local government, Indian tribes, and nonprofit organizations for purposes of establishing and maintaining programs with respect to the prevention of sexual offenses committed against minors.

(b)

Definition of State

For purposes of this section, the term State means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

(c)

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2007 through 2011.

17.

Cybersecurity forensic capabilities

Section 816(b)(1) of the USA PATRIOT Act (28 U.S.C. 509 note) is amended by striking $50,000,000 and inserting $70,000,000.

Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today's Youth Act (SAFETY) of 2006

Legislative Activity

Bill Text