IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 219
Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to raising awareness and 
encouraging education about safety on the Internet and supporting the 
goals and ideals of National Internet Safety Month. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 12, 2003
Mr. SMITH of Texas (for himself and Mr. VITTER) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to raising 
awareness and encouraging education about safety on 
the Internet and supporting the goals and ideals of Na-
tional Internet Safety Month.
Whereas, in the United States, 48 million children between 
the ages of 5 and 17 use computers; 
Whereas 5- to 17-year-olds in the United States currently 
spend 5 billion hours online annually; 
Whereas 70 million youth under the age of 18 worldwide are 
online; 
Whereas the majority of teenagers’ online use occurs after 
school, at home, when working parents are not at home;
•HCON 219 IH 
Whereas 90 percent of those age 15 to 24 use the Internet, 
with almost half of them using it once a day or more; 
Whereas approximately 3 out of 4 young people have access 
to the Internet at home, and nearly 1 in 3 has access 
from their own bedroom; 
Whereas 9 out of 10 children between ages 8 and 16 have 
viewed pornography on the Internet, with most being 
accessed unintentionally when, often in the process of 
doing homework, a child used a seemingly innocent 
sounding word in an Internet search for information or 
pictures; 
Whereas 62 percent of parents of teenagers are unaware that 
their children have accessed objectionable Websites; 
Whereas 89 percent of sexual solicitations were made in ei-
ther chat rooms or Instant Messages; 
Whereas 30 percent of the girls responding to a Girl Scout 
Research study reported that they had been sexually har-
assed in a chat room, but only 7 percent told a parent 
about the harassment, most fearing their parents would 
overreact and ban computer usage altogether; 
Whereas, in 1996, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was 
involved in 113 cases involving Internet crimes against 
children, but in 2001, the FBI opened 1,541 cases 
against suspects of Internet crimes involving child por-
nography or abuse; and 
Whereas June as National Internet Safety Month will provide 
national awareness of the dangers of the Internet while 
offering education about how to be safe, responsible, and 
accountable on the Internet: Now, therefore, be it
•HCON 219 IH 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) National Internet Safety Month provides an 
opportunity to educate the people of the United 
States on the dangers of the Internet and the impor-
tance of being safe and responsible online; 
(2) national and community organizations 
should be recognized and applauded for their work 
in promoting awareness of the dangers of the Inter-
net and for providing information on developing the 
critical thinking and decision-making skills to be 
safe online; and 
(3) Internet safety organizations, law enforce-
ment, educators, and volunteers should continue to 
increase their efforts to raise the awareness of online 
safety.
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