Sec. 2. Findings; sense of Congress
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Congress finds the following: Over the 3 decades preceding the date of enactment of this Act, Congress has passed several bills to protect minors from access to online pornographic content, including title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 ( Public Law 104–104 ) (commonly known as the Communications Decency Act ), section 231 of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 231 ) (commonly known as the Child Online Protection Act ), and the Children’s Internet Protection Act (title XVII of division B of Public Law 106–554 ).
With the exception of the Children's Internet Protection Act (title XVII of division B of Public Law 106–554 ), the Supreme Court of the United States has struck down the previous efforts of Congress to shield children from pornographic content, finding that such legislation constituted a compelling government interest but that it was not the least restrictive means to achieve such interest. In Ashcroft v. ACLU, 542 U.S. 656 (2004), the Court even suggested at the time that blocking and filtering software could conceivably be a primary alternative to the requirements passed by Congress.
In the nearly 2 decades since the Supreme Court of the United States suggested the use of blocking and filtering software , such technology has proven to be ineffective in protecting minors from accessing online pornographic content. The Kaiser Family Foundation has found that filters do not work on 1 in 10 pornography sites accessed intentionally and 1 in 3 pornography sites that are accessed unintentionally. Further, it has been proven that children are able to bypass blocking and filtering software by employing strategic searches or measures to bypass the software completely.
Additionally, Pew Research has revealed studies showing that only 39-percent of parents use blocking or filtering software for their minor’s online activities, meaning that 61-percent of children only have restrictions on their internet access when they are at school or at a library. 17 States have now recognized pornography as a public health hazard that leads to a broad range of individual harms, societal harms, and public health impacts. It is estimated that 80-percent of minors between the ages of 12 to 17 have been exposed to pornography, with 54-percent of teenagers seeking it out.
The internet is the most common source for minors to access pornography with pornographic websites receiving more web traffic in the United States than Twitter, Netflix, Pinterest, and LinkedIn combined. Exposure to online pornography has created unique psychological effects for minors, including anxiety, addiction, low self-esteem, body image disorders, an increase in problematic sexual activity at younger ages, and an increased desire among minors to engage in risky sexual behavior.
The Supreme Court of the United States has recognized on multiple occasions that Congress has a compelling government interest to protect the physical and psychological well-being of minors, which includes shielding them from indecent content that may not necessarily be considered obscene by adult standards. Because blocking and filtering software has not produced the results envisioned nearly 2 decades ago, it is necessary for Congress to pursue alternative policies to enable the protection of the physical and psychological well-being of minors.
The evolution of our technology has now enabled the use of age verification technology that is cost efficient, not unduly burdensome, and can be operated narrowly in a manner that ensures only adults have access to a website’s online pornographic content. It is the sense of Congress that— shielding minors from access to online pornographic content is a compelling government interest that protects the physical and psychological well-being of minors; and requiring interactive computer services that are in the business of creating, hosting, or making available pornographic content to enact technological measures that shield minors from accessing pornographic content on their platforms is the least restrictive means for Congress to achieve its compelling government interest.
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- Pub. L. 104-104
- Pub. L. 106-554
- 542 U.S. 656
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Sec. 2
Findings; sense of Congress
SCOTUS542 U.S. 656
Pub. L.Pub. L. 104-104
Pub. L.Pub. L. 106-554
Cites 4Cited by 0 across 0 sources