H. R. 3833
One Hundred Seventh Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the twenty-third day of January, two thousand and two
An Act
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 Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dot Kids Implementation 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 enter-
taining 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 mistak-
enly 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 finan-
cial difficulties;
(5) young boys and girls, older teens, troubled youth, fre-
quent 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
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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 indus-
tries, 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 psycho-
logical 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 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.
SEC. 3. NTIA AUTHORITY.
Section 103(b)(3) of the National Telecommunications 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 subparagraph:
‘‘(C) shall assign to the NTIA responsibility for pro-
viding 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 DOMAIN.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administra-
tion 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 DOMAIN.
‘‘(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
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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 CONTRACTS.—
‘‘(1) INITIAL REGISTRY.—The NTIA shall not exercise any
option periods under any contract between the NTIA and the
initial registry to operate and maintain the United States
country code Internet domain unless the initial registry agrees,
during the 90-day period beginning upon the date of the enact-
ment of the Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of
2002, to carry out, and to operate the new domain in accordance
with, the requirements under subsection (c). Nothing in this
subsection shall be construed to prevent the initial registry
of the United States country code Internet domain from partici-
pating in the NTIA’s process for selecting a successor registry
or to prevent the NTIA from awarding, to the initial registry,
the contract to be successor registry subject to the requirements
of paragraph (2).
‘‘(2) SUCCESSOR
REGISTRIES.—The NTIA shall not enter
into any contract for operating and maintaining the United
States country code Internet domain with any successor registry
unless such registry enters into an agreement with the NTIA,
during the 90-day period after selection of such registry, that
provides for the registry to carry out, and the new domain
to operate in accordance with, the requirements under sub-
section (c).
‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS OF NEW DOMAIN.—The registry and new
domain shall be subject to the following requirements:
‘‘(1) Written content standards for the new domain, except
that the NTIA shall not have any authority to establish such
standards.
‘‘(2) Written agreements with each registrar for the new
domain that require that use of the new domain is in accordance
with the standards and requirements of the registry.
‘‘(3) Written agreements with registrars, which shall
require registrars to enter into written agreements with reg-
istrants, to use the new domain in accordance with the stand-
ards and requirements of the registry.
‘‘(4) Rules and procedures for enforcement and oversight
that minimize the possibility that the new domain provides
access to content that is not in accordance with the standards
and requirements of the registry.
‘‘(5) A process for removing from the new domain any
content that is not in accordance with the standards and
requirements of the registry.
‘‘(6) A process to provide registrants to the new domain
with an opportunity for a prompt, expeditious, and 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 registry selected to
operate and maintain new domain or the United States country
code domain.
‘‘(8) Procedures and mechanisms to promote the accuracy
of contact information submitted by registrants and retained
by registrars in the new domain.
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‘‘(9) Operationality of the new domain not later than one
year after the date of the enactment of the Dot Kids
Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002.
‘‘(10) Written agreements with registrars, which shall
require registrars to enter into written agreements with reg-
istrants, to prohibit two-way and multiuser interactive services
in the new domain, unless the registrant certifies to the reg-
istrar that such service will be offered in compliance with
the content standards established pursuant to paragraph (1)
and is designed to reduce the risk of exploitation of minors
using such two-way and multiuser interactive services.
‘‘(11) Written agreements with registrars, which shall
require registrars to enter into written agreements with reg-
istrants, to prohibit hyperlinks in the new domain that take
new domain users outside of the new domain.
‘‘(12) Any other action that the NTIA considers necessary
to establish, operate, or maintain the new domain in accordance
with the purposes of this section.
‘‘(d) OPTION PERIODS FOR INITIAL REGISTRY.—The NTIA shall
grant the initial registry the option periods available under the
contract between the NTIA and the initial registry to operate and
maintain the United States country code Internet domain if, and
may not grant such option periods unless, the NTIA finds that
the initial registry has satisfactorily performed its obligations under
this Act and under the contract. Nothing in this section shall
preempt or alter the NTIA’s authority to terminate such contract
for the operation of the United States country code Internet domain
for cause or for convenience.
‘‘(e) TREATMENT OF REGISTRY AND OTHER ENTITIES.—
‘‘(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 maintains the new
domain.
‘‘(B) Any entity that contracts with such registry to
carry out functions to ensure that content accessed through
the new domain complies 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 paragraph (1) shall
be construed to affect the applicability of any other provision
of title II of the Communications Act of 1934 to the entities
covered by subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1).
‘‘(f) EDUCATION.—The NTIA shall carry out a program to pub-
licize the availability of the new domain and to educate the parents
of minors regarding the process for utilizing the new domain in
combination and coordination with hardware and software tech-
nologies that provide for filtering or blocking. The program under
this subsection shall be commenced not later than 30 days after
the date that the new domain first becomes operational and acces-
sible by the public.
‘‘(g) COORDINATION WITH FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—The registry
selected to operate and maintain the new domain shall—
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‘‘(1) consult with appropriate agencies of the Federal
Government regarding procedures and actions to prevent
minors and families who use the new domain from being tar-
geted by adults and other children for predatory behavior,
exploitation, or illegal actions; and
‘‘(2) based upon the consultations conducted pursuant to
paragraph (1), establish such procedures and take such actions
as the registry may deem necessary to prevent such targeting.
The consultations, procedures, and actions required 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.
‘‘(h) COMPLIANCE REPORT.—The registry shall prepare, on an
annual basis, a report on the registry’s monitoring and enforcement
procedures for the new domain. The registry shall submit each
such report, setting forth the results of the review of its monitoring
and enforcement procedures for the new domain, to the Committee
on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate.
‘‘(i) SUSPENSION OF NEW DOMAIN.—If the NTIA finds, pursuant
to its own review or upon a good faith petition by the registry,
that the new domain is not serving its intended purpose, the NTIA
shall instruct the registry to suspend operation of the new domain
until such time as the NTIA determines that the new domain
can be operated as intended.
‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the following
definitions shall apply:
‘‘(1) HARMFUL TO MINORS.—The term ‘harmful to minors’
means, with respect to material, that—
‘‘(A) the average person, applying contemporary
community standards, would find, taking the material as
a whole and with respect to minors, that it is designed
to appeal to, or is designed 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
exhibition of the genitals or post-pubescent female breast;
and
‘‘(C) taken as a whole, the material lacks serious, lit-
erary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.
‘‘(2) MINOR.—The term ‘minor’ means any person under
13 years of age.
‘‘(3) REGISTRY.—The term ‘registry’ means the registry
selected to operate and maintain the United States country
code Internet domain.
‘‘(4) SUCCESSOR REGISTRY.—The term ‘successor registry’
means any entity that enters into a contract with the NTIA
to operate and maintain the United States country code Inter-
net domain that covers any period after the termination or
expiration of the contract to operate and maintain the United
States country code Internet domain, and any option periods
under such contract, that was signed on October 26, 2001.
‘‘(5) SUITABLE FOR MINORS.—The term ‘suitable for minors’
means, with respect to material, that it—
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‘‘(A) is not psychologically or intellectually inappro-
priate for minors; and
‘‘(B) serves—
‘‘(i) the educational, informational, intellectual, or
cognitive needs of minors; or
‘‘(ii) the social, emotional, or entertainment needs
of minors.’’.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.