I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3479 

To protect children from Internet pornography and support law enforcement 

and other efforts to combat Internet and pornography-related crimes 

against children. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 27, 2005 

Mr. MATHESON (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MCINTYRE, and Mr. DAVIS

of Tennessee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees 

on Ways and Means, the Judiciary, Education and the Workforce, and 

Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To protect children from Internet pornography and support 

law enforcement and other efforts to combat Internet 

and pornography-related crimes against children. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Internet Safety and 

5 Child Protection Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to— 
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1 (1) set tighter age verification standards to 

2 block minors from entering Internet pornography 

3 sites; and 

4 (2) provide funding and support to law enforce5 ment efforts to combat Internet and pornography-re6 lated crimes against children. 

7 TITLE I—CHILD PROTECTION 

8 EFFORTS 

9 SEC. 101. AGE VERIFICATION REQUIREMENT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—An operator of a regulated porno11 graphic Web site shall verify that any user attempting to 

12 access their site is 18 years of age or older using software 

13 certified for that purpose by the Commission. 

14 (b) REQUIREMENT.—The age verification required by 

15 this section shall take place prior to the display of any 

16 pornographic material, including free content that may be 

17 available prior to the purchase of a subscription or prod18 uct. 

19 SEC. 102. CREDIT CARD REQUIREMENT. 

20 A bank, credit card company, third-party merchant, 

21 Internet payment service provider, or business that per22 forms financial transactions for a regulated pornographic 

23 Web site shall only process age-verified Internet pornog24 raphy credit card transactions for sales carried out in ac25 cordance with this title. 
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1 SEC. 103. COMMISSION REQUIREMENT. 

2 The Commission shall— 

3 (1) require each regulated pornographic Web 

4 site to— 

5 (A) use appropriate age-screening software 

6 to carry out this title; and 

7 (B) use that software correctly and con8 sistently through such means as conducting 

9 periodic tests trying to access the Web site 

10 without appropriate age verifications; and 

11 (2) in coordination with the Department of Jus12 tice and other Federal agencies, maintain a list of 

13 regulated pornographic Web sites that are not in 

14 compliance with section 101. 

15 SEC. 104. ENFORCEMENT BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COM16 MISSION. 

17 (a) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES.— 

18 A violation of section 101 shall be treated as a violation 

19 of section 18 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 

20 U.S.C. 57a) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or prac21 tices. 

22 (b) POWERS OF COMMISSION.—The Commission 

23 shall issue and enforce the regulations for the enforcement 

24 of section 101 in the same manner, by the same means, 

25 and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as 

26 though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal 
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1 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incor2 porated into and made a part of this title. Any person 

3 who violates such regulations shall be subject to the pen4 alties provided in that title. 

5 SEC. 105. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this title: 

7 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

8 means the Federal Trade Commission. 

9 (2) REGULATED PORNOGRAPHIC WEB SITE.— 

10 The term ‘‘regulated pornographic Web site’’ means 

11 a person required to maintain documents verifying 

12 the age of persons engaged in sexually explicit con13 duct pursuant to section 2257(a) of title 18, United 

14 States Code. 

15 TITLE II—FUNDING FOR CHILD 

16 PROTECTION 

17 Subtitle A—Excise Tax 

18 SEC. 201. EXCISE TAX ON INTERNET DISPLAY OR DISTRIBU19 TION OF PORNOGRAPHY. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 33 of the Internal Rev21 enue Code of 1986 (relating to facilities and services) is 

22 amended by inserting after subchapter C the following new 

23 subchapter: 
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1 ‘‘Subchapter D—Internet Display or 

2 Distribution of Pornography 

‘‘Sec. 4285. Internet display or distribution of pornography. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 4285. INTERNET DISPLAY OR DISTRIBUTION OF POR4 NOGRAPHY. 

5 ‘‘(a) IMPOSITION OF TAX.—There is imposed on 

6 amounts charged by a regulated pornographic Web site 

7 for individuals to receive the display or distribution of por8 nography through the Internet a tax equal to 25 percent 

9 of the amounts so charged. 

10 ‘‘(b) PAYMENT OF TAX.—The tax imposed by this 

11 section shall be paid by the operator of the regulated por12 nographic Web site receiving payment for the display or 

13 distribution taxed under subsection (a). 

14 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) PORNOGRAPHY.—The term ‘pornography’ 

16 has the same meaning as defined in section 2256(2) 

17 of title 18, United States Code. 

18 ‘‘(2) REGULATED PORNOGRAPHIC WEB SITE.— 

19 The term ‘regulated pornographic Web site’ has the 

20 same meaning as defined in section 105 of the Inter21 net Safety and Child Protection Act of 2005.’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sub23 chapters for chapter 33 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
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1 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

2 item: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER D—INTERNET DISPLAY OR DISTRIBUTION OF PORNOGRAPHY’’. 

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall take effect on January 1, 2006. 

5 Subtitle B—Child Protection 

6 Programs 

7 SEC. 211. TRUST FUND. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Treas9 ury the Internet Safety and Child Protection Trust Fund 

10 (referred to in this subtitle as the ‘‘trust fund’’) into which 

11 shall be deposited all taxes collected under section 4285 

12 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

13 (b) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts depos14 ited into the trust fund shall be available to carry out the 

15 programs provided in section 212, subject to annual ap16 propriations. 

17 SEC. 212. FUNDING FOR CHILD INTERNET SAFETY AND 

18 PROTECTION PROGRAMS. 

19 (a) PRIORITIES.—Amounts available in the trust 

20 fund shall be allocated on a priority basis as follows: 

21 (1) ENFORCEMENT OF THIS ACT.—The first 

22 priority for the use of amounts in the trust fund 

23 shall be to provide funding for the appropriate Fed24 eral agencies to carry out the enforcement of sec25 tions 103, 104, and 201 of this Act. Funding may 
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1 also be used to promote the development of tech2 nology that would facilitate the enforcement of this 

3 Act. 

4 (2) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CYBER TIP5 LINE.—The second priority for the use of amounts 

6 in the trust fund shall be to provide funds to the Of7 fice of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

8 to ensure that the congressionally-mandated cyber 

9 tip line is fully operational and staffed 24 hours a 

10 day. 

11 (3) INTERNET CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN

12 TASK FORCE.—The third priority for the use of 

13 amounts in the trust fund shall be to provide funds 

14 to States to support 1 Internet Crimes Against Chil15 dren Task Force center per 5,000,000 State resi16 dents, with each State receiving sufficient funding to 

17 support at least 1 center and no State receiving 

18 funding for more than 7 centers. 

19 (4) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The fourth priority for 

21 the use of amounts in the trust fund is to es22 tablish a competitive grant process for compa23 nies and other organizations who work in the 

24 technology field to support the research and de25 velopment into new filtering technologies that 
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1 will help parents control children’s access to in2 appropriate content via wireless and other 

3 emerging technologies. 

4 (B) SET ASIDE.—The Attorney General 

5 shall allocate up to 10 percent of annual trust 

6 fund revenues to award a minimum of 15 re7 search and development grants under this para8 graph. 

9 (5) EDUCATIONAL TRAINING.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The fifth priority for 

11 the use of amounts in the trust fund shall be 

12 to provide relevant State agencies with funds to 

13 support educational training contributing to 

14 greater child Internet safety and reductions in 

15 sex trafficking and sex crimes against children. 

16 (B) CONDITIONS.—The program author17 ized by this paragraph shall be carried out sub18 ject to the following conditions: 

19 (i) States shall receive funding 

20 amounting to $1 for every resident, with a 

21 minimum of $1,000,000 for each State. 

22 (ii) 25 percent of each State’s funding 

23 shall go to the State education agency to 

24 support State and local programs pro-
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1 viding child Internet safety training to 

2 teachers. 

3 (iii) 30 percent of each State’s fund4 ing shall go to the State Attorneys’ Gen5 eral office to support child Internet safety 

6 training for law enforcement, as well as 

7 training that enhances the capacity of law 

8 enforcement to combat sex trafficking and 

9 sex crimes against children. 

10 (iv) 10 percent of each State’s fund11 ing shall be allocated to the Governor’s of12 fice to develop and implement a coordi13 nated State child internet safety strategy. 

14 (v) 35 percent of the State funding 

15 shall go to the relevant State agency to 

16 support Public Service Announcements 

17 promoting child Internet safety. 

18 (6) REMAINING AMOUNTS.—After fully funding 

19 the priorities established in paragraphs (1) through 

20 (5) for a fiscal year any remaining amounts shall be 

21 allocated as follows: 

22 (A) FEDERAL AGENCY SUPPORT.—50 per23 cent of remaining amounts shall be used to pro24 vide funding to support child Internet safety ac25 tivities, as well as activities combating sex traf-
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1 ficking and sex crimes against children, on the 

2 part of the following Federal Agencies: 

3 (i) Department of Justice. 

4 (ii) Department of Commerce. 

5 (iii) Department of Defense. 

6 (iv) Department of Education. 

7 (v) Department of Health and Human 

8 Services. 

9 (vi) Department of State. 

10 (vii) Department of Homeland Secu11 rity. 

12 (viii) Department of the Treasury. 

13 (ix) Department of Agriculture. 

14 (x) United States Postal Service. 

15 (xi) Federal Trade Commission. 

16 (xii) Federal Communications Com17 mission. 

18 (xiii) National Aeronautics and Space 

19 Administration. 

20 (B) PRIVATE ENTITIES.— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—50 percent of re22 maining amounts shall be allocated 

23 through a competitive grant process to 

24 international and domestic nongovern25 mental organizations and not-for profits, to 
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1 support work promoting child Internet 

2 safety and combating sex trafficking and 

3 sex crimes against children. 

4 (ii) DETAILS.—The Attorney General 

5 shall— 

6 (I) publish guidance in the Fed7 eral Register describing the variety 

8 and scope of organizational work to be 

9 funded under this subparagraph in a 

10 fiscal year and soliciting grant pro11 posals under this subparagraph; and 

12 (II) allocate funds on the basis of 

13 a competitive grant process. 

14 (iii) FUNDING LIMIT.—For every $1 

15 allocated for international work under this 

16 subparagraph, the Attorney General shall 

17 allocate $2.5 dollars for domestic work. 

18 (b) GRANT PROGRAMS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

20 carry out this section. 

21 (2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Attorney 

22 General shall prescribe the terms and conditions for 

23 grant applications and awards under this section. 
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1 SEC. 213. DEFICIT REDUCTION. 

2 Amounts remaining in the trust fund after the pro3 grams authorized in section 212 are funded shall be re4 turned to the Treasury and applied to deficit reduction. 

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