[governance] US Senators propose labels & notification to ICANN of adult websites

[David Goldstein]

Hi all,

I came across these stories over the weekend. According to the stories, a couple of US Democrat senators were proposing to legislate for a .xxx TLD in a separate initiative to the ICM Registry proposal.

While the proposal has now been withdrawn, there is now another ludicrous proposal from these senators for the Cyber Safety for Kids Act of 2007 that will force website owners, should it ever get passed and then survive the inevitable court challenges, to insert labels "in all Web pages that the government deems unsuitable for minors". The labels would be "devised by the U.S. Department of Commerce". Owners of websites with adult content would be required to inform ICANN of such when registering the domain name, along with the web site's Internet Protocol address and other information.

Obviously this is problematic!

Anyway, the news reports I've found about this are below, and I'll post any new stories I find, should there be any, on my website at http://technewsreview.com.au/

Cheers
David

US Senators propose labels for adult Web sites
Operators of Web sites with racy content must label their sites and register in a national directory or be fined, according to a new U.S. Senate proposal titled the Cyber Safety for Kids Act of 2007. The proposal includes the requirement for “embedding a new tag--such as <L18>--in all Web pages that the government deems unsuitable for minors.” Web sites with "harmful to minors" content on pages that are initially viewable to visitors must use the tag to be devised by the U.S. Department of Commerce or face civil fines. The federal government would be able to "shut down" noncompliant sites, but that portion is not actually in the bill. Another section of the Act would require the owner of any web site with adult content to say so when registering the domain with ICANN. The owner must also give ICANN the web site's Internet Protocol address and other information. Naturally the proposal is going to run into problems with the ACLU stating "The labeling part of it is going to be
 constitutionally problematic." 
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6175549.html
http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2007/04/12/senators-propose-labels-for-adult-web-sites/

us: Senators Want Porn Site Owners To Clean Up Home Pages, Label Content
A new bill is latest in a long string of attempts by federal lawmakers to pass protections that would help protect minors from obscenity and pornography. ... The bill would require Web site owners to notify ICANN and provide information about the site if it contains adult content. It would also have the U.S. Department of Commerce ensure that adult sites shave secure log-ins, age identification requirements, clean home pages and the ability to be blocked by filtering technology. If the bill passes, the National Telecommunications & Information Administration would be able to fine non-compliant sites.
http://informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199001010

us: Pryor abandons xxx domains for porn
Sen. Mark Pryor, the sponsor of bills to prevent children from accessing pornography on the Internet, has abandoned an effort to require an .xxx domain name for sites with adult content. Pryor, D-Ark., and Max Baucus, D-Mont., took a new approach on a "Cyber Safety for Kids" bill they introduced on Wednesday, compared to an unsuccessful measure in 2006. This year's bill would require age verification before computer users can access pornographic sites.
http://arkansasnews.com/archive/2007/04/12/WashingtonDCBureau/341701.html


 
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David Goldstein
 address: 4/3 Abbott Street
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           AUSTRALIA
 email: Goldstein_David @yahoo.com.au
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