I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3833
To facilitate the creation of a new, second-level Internet domain within the
United States country code domain that will be a haven for material
that promotes positive experiences for children and families using the
Internet, provides a safe online environment for children, and helps
to prevent children from being exposed to harmful material on the
Internet, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 4, 2002
Mr. SHIMKUS (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. UPTON, Mr. TERRY, Mr. PICK-
ERING, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. TOWNS, and Mr. TAUZIN) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
A BILL
To facilitate the creation of a new, second-level Internet
domain within the United States country code domain
that will be a haven for material that promotes positive
experiences for children and families using the Internet,
provides a safe online environment for children, and
helps to prevent children from being exposed to harmful
material on the Internet, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dot Kids Implementa-
tion and Efficiency Act of 2002’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(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 por-
tion of all material available on the Internet is re-
lated 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 in-
appropriate for them, including pornography, can
distort the education and development of the Na-
tion’s youth and represents a serious harm to Amer-
ican families that can lead to a host of other prob-
lems for children, including inappropriate use of
chat rooms, physical molestation, harassment, and
legal and financial difficulties;
(5) although the computer software and hard-
ware industries, and other related industries, have
developed innovative ways to help parents and edu-
cators restrict material that is harmful to minors
through parental control protections and self-regula-
tion, to date such efforts have not provided a na-
tional solution to the problem of minors accessing
harmful material on the World Wide Web;
(6) 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;
(7) 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; and
(8) the creation—as facilitated by this Act—of
a safe place on the Internet for children, use of
which is completely at the discretion of individual
parents, families, and children, is a narrowly tailored
solution that is least restrictive of protected speech
while still allowing for alternative avenues of com-
munication within the United States country code
domain, as well as the World Wide Web.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to facilitate the creation of second-level do-
main within the United States country code domain
for the location of material that is suitable for mi-
nors and not harmful to minors; and
(2) to ensure that the National Telecommuni-
cations and Information Administration oversees the
creation of such a second-level domain and ensures
the effective and efficient establishment and oper-
ation of the new domain.
SEC. 3. NTIA AUTHORITY.
Section 103(b)(3) of the National Telecommuni-
cations and Information Administration Organization Act
(47 U.S.C. 902(b)(3)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at
the end;
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph:
‘‘(C) shall assign to the NTIA responsi-
bility for providing for the establishment, and
overseeing operation, of a second-level Internet
domain within the United States country code
domain in accordance with section 157.’’.
SEC. 4. CHILD-FRIENDLY SECOND-LEVEL INTERNET DO-
MAIN.
The National Telecommunications and Information
Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 901 et seq.)
is amended in part C by adding at the end the following
new section:
‘‘SEC. 157. CHILD-FRIENDLY SECOND-LEVEL INTERNET DO-
MAIN.
‘‘(a) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The NTIA shall require
the registry selected to operate and maintain the United
States country code Internet domain to establish, operate,
and maintain a second-level domain within the United
States country code domain that provides access only to
material that is suitable for minors and not harmful to
minors (in this section referred to as the ‘new domain’).
‘‘(b) CONDITIONS
OF CONTRACT RENEWAL.—The
NTIA may not renew any contract with the initial reg-
istry, or enter into any contract with a successor registry,
that is selected to operate and maintain the new domain
unless, during the 12-month period beginning upon such
selection, such registry enters into an agreement with the
NTIA to provide, and does implement, the following:
‘‘(1) Written content standards for the new do-
main, except that the NTIA shall not have any au-
thority to establish such standards.
‘‘(2) Written agreements with each registrar for
the new domain that ensure use of the new domain
is in accordance with the standards and rules of the
registry.
‘‘(3) Registrars to enter into written agree-
ments with registrants to use the new domain in ac-
cordance with the standards and rules of the reg-
istry.
‘‘(4) Rules and procedures for enforcement and
oversight that minimize the possibility that the new
domain provides access to content that is not in ac-
cordance with the standards and rules of the reg-
istry.
‘‘(5) A process for removing from the new do-
main any content that is not in accordance with the
standards and rules of the registry.
‘‘(6) A process to provide registrants to the new
domain with an opportunity for an impartial dispute
resolution process regarding any material of the reg-
istrant excluded from the new domain.
‘‘(7) Continuous and uninterrupted service for
the new domain during any transition to a new reg-
istry selected to operate and maintain the United
States country code domain.
‘‘(8) Taking any other action that the NTIA
considers necessary to establish, operate, or main-
tain the new domain in accordance with the pur-
poses of this section.
‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF REGISTRY AND OTHER ENTI-
TIES.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Only to the extent that
such entities carry out functions under this section,
the following entities are deemed to be interactive
computer services for purposes of section 230(c) of
the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
230(c)):
‘‘(A) The registry that operates and main-
tains the new domain.
‘‘(B) Any entity that contracts with such
registry to carry out functions to ensure that
content accessed through the new domain com-
plies with the limitations applicable to the new
domain.
‘‘(C) Any registrar for the registry of the
new domain that is operating in compliance
with its agreement with the registry.
‘‘(2) SAVINGS
PROVISION.—Nothing in para-
graph (1) shall be construed to affect the applica-
bility of any other provision of title II of the Com-
munications Act of 1934 to the entities covered by
subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1).
‘‘(d) EDUCATION.—The NTIA shall carry out a pro-
gram to publicize the availability of the new domain and
to educate the parents of minors regarding the process
for utilizing the new domain in combination and coordina-
tion with hardware and software technologies that provide
for filtering or blocking. The program under this sub-
section shall be commenced not later than 30 days after
the date that the new domain first becomes operational
and accessible by the public.
‘‘(e) COORDINATION
WITH
FEDERAL
GOVERN-
MENT.—The registry selected to operate and maintain the
new domain shall—
‘‘(1) consult with the other appropriate agencies
of the Federal Government regarding appropriate
procedures and actions to prevent minors and fami-
lies who use the new domain from being targeted by
adults and other children for predatory behavior, ex-
ploitation, or illegal actions; and
‘‘(2) establish such procedures and take such
actions as may be necessary to prevent such tar-
geting.
The consultations, procedures, and actions required under
this subsection shall be commenced not later than 30 days
after the date that the new domain first becomes oper-
ational and accessible by the public.
‘‘(f) COMPLIANCE REPORT.—Not less often than an-
nually, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall—
‘‘(1) conduct a review of the registry selected to
operate and maintain the new domain to ensure
compliance with the provisions of subsection (b);
‘‘(2) conduct a review of a sample of the con-
tent made available through the new domain to en-
sure compliance with the standards and rules of the
registry; and
‘‘(3) submit a report to the Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate regarding the results
of such reviews.
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the
following definitions shall apply:
‘‘(1) HARMFUL TO MINORS.—The term ’harm-
ful to minors’ means, with respect to material,
that—
‘‘(A) the average person, applying contem-
porary community standards, would find, taking
the material as a whole and with respect to mi-
nors, that it is designed to appeal to, or is de-
signed to pander to, the prurient interest;
‘‘(B) the material depicts, describes, or
represents, in a manner patently offensive with
respect to minors, an actual or simulated sexual
act or sexual contact, an actual or simulated
normal or perverted sexual act, or a lewd exhi-
bition of the genitals or post-pubescent female
breast; and
‘‘(C) taken as a whole, the material lacks
serious, literary, artistic, political, or scientific
value for minors.
‘‘(2) MINOR.—the term ‘minor’ means any per-
son under 13 years of age.
‘‘(3) SUITABLE FOR MINORS.—The term ‘suit-
able for minors’ means, with respect to material,
that it is not psychologically or intellectually inap-
propriate for the age of the targeted audience.’’.
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