I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4239
To provide a civil action for a minor injured by exposure to an entertainment 
product containing material that is harmful to minors, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 28, 2004
Mr. HUNTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide a civil action for a minor injured by exposure 
to an entertainment product containing material that 
is harmful to minors, 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 ‘‘Parents’ Empower-
ment Act’’.
SEC. 2. CIVIL ACTION FOR A MINOR INJURED BY EXPO-
SURE TO AN ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCT 
CONTAINING MATERIAL THAT IS HARMFUL 
TO MINORS. 
(a) CIVIL ACTION.—A minor, through a person act-
ing on behalf of the minor in accordance with Rule 17(c) 
of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to the extent appli-
cable, may, in a civil action in an appropriate district court 
of the United States, obtain relief under subsection (b) 
against any person who knowingly sells or distributes in 
interstate or foreign commerce an entertainment product 
containing material that is harmful to minors, if—
(1) a reasonable person would expect a substan-
tial number of minors to be exposed to the material; 
and 
(2) the minor as a result of exposure to that 
material is likely to suffer personal or emotional in-
jury or injury to mental or moral welfare. 
(b) RELIEF.—In an action under subsection (a), if 
the minor is the prevailing party—
(1) the minor shall recover compensatory dam-
ages of not less than $10,000 for each instance of 
any such material in any such product to which such 
minor was so exposed; 
(2) the minor may recover punitive damages;
(3) the court, in its discretion, may allow the 
minor a reasonable attorney’s fee (including expert 
fees) as part of the costs; and 
(4) the court may order any other appropriate 
relief. 
(c) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.—It is an affirmative de-
fense to an action under this section that a parent or 
guardian of the minor owned or possessed the entertain-
ment product containing the material to which the minor 
was exposed, and an act of that parent or guardian was 
the proximate cause of the minor’s exposure to that mate-
rial. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘entertainment product’’ means a 
picture, photograph, image, graphic image file, 
drawing, video game, motion picture film, or similar 
visual representation or image, book, pamphlet, 
magazine, printed matter, or sound recording. 
(2) The term ‘‘material that is harmful to mi-
nors’’ means any pornographic communication, pic-
ture, image, graphic image file, article, recording, 
writing, or other pornographic matter of any kind 
that is obscene or that—
(A) the average person, applying the con-
temporary standards of the adult community in
which the minor resides with respect to what is 
suitable for minors, would find, taking the ma-
terial as a whole and with respect to minors of 
the ages that the person reasonably would ex-
pect to be exposed to the material—
(i) is designed to appeal to, or is de-
signed to pander to, the prurient interest 
in nudity, sex, or excretion, with respect to 
minors; and 
(ii) 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 simu-
lated normal or perverted sexual act, or a 
lewd exhibition of the genitals or post-pu-
bescent female breast; and 
(B) a reasonable person would find, taken 
as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, polit-
ical, and scientific value for minors sufficient to 
overcome the pernicious effect of that material. 
(3) The term ‘‘minor’’ means an individual 
under the age of 18. 
(e) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this section 
or any application of such provision to any person or cir-
cumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder
of this section and the application of the provision to any 
other person or circumstance shall not be affected.
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