Findings and Purposes

Pub. L. 107–317, § 2, Dec. 4, 2002, 116 Stat. 2766, provided that:

“(a)

Findings.—

The Congress finds that—

“(1)

the World Wide Web presents a stimulating and entertaining opportunity for children to learn, grow, and develop educationally and intellectually;

“(2)

Internet technology also makes available an extensive amount of information that is harmful to children, as studies indicate that a significant portion of all material available on the Internet is related to pornography;

“(3)

young children, when trying to use the World Wide Web for positive purposes, are often presented—either mistakenly or intentionally—with material that is inappropriate for their age, which can be extremely frustrating for children, parents, and educators;

“(4)

exposure of children to material that is inappropriate for them, including pornography, can distort the education and development of the Nation’s youth and represents a serious harm to American families that can lead to a host of other problems for children, including inappropriate use of chat rooms, physical molestation, harassment, and legal and financial difficulties;

“(5)

young boys and girls, older teens, troubled youth, frequent Internet users, chat room participants, online risk takers, and those who communicate online with strangers are at greater risk for receiving unwanted sexual solicitation on the Internet;

“(6)

studies have shown that 19 percent of youth (ages 10 to 17) who used the Internet regularly were the targets of unwanted sexual solicitation, but less than 10 percent of the solicitations were reported to the police;

“(7)

children who come across illegal content should report it to the congressionally authorized CyberTipline, an online mechanism developed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, for citizens to report sexual crimes against children;

“(8)

the CyberTipline has received more than 64,400 reports, including reports of child pornography, online enticement for sexual acts, child molestation (outside the family), and child prostitution;

“(9)

although the computer software and hardware industries, and other related industries, have developed innovative ways to help parents and educators restrict material that is harmful to minors through parental control protections and self-regulation, to date such efforts have not provided a national solution to the problem of minors accessing harmful material on the World Wide Web;

“(10)

the creation of a ‘green-light’ area within the United States country code Internet domain, that will contain only content that is appropriate for children under the age of 13, is analogous to the creation of a children’s section within a library and will promote the positive experiences of children and families in the United States; and

“(11)

while custody, care, and nurture of the child reside first with the parent, the protection of the physical and psychological well-being of minors by shielding them from material that is harmful to them is a compelling governmental interest.

“(b)

Purposes.—

The purposes of this Act [see Short Title of 2002 Amendment note set out under section 901 of this title] are—

“(1)

to facilitate the creation of a second-level domain within the United States country code Internet domain for the location of material that is suitable for minors and not harmful to minors; and

“(2)

to ensure that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration oversees the creation of such a second-level domain and ensures the effective and efficient establishment and operation of the new domain.”