107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3833
AN ACT
To facilitate the creation of a new, second-level
Internet domain within the United States coun-
try 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 pre-
vent children from being exposed to harmful ma-
terial on the Internet, and for other purposes.
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3833
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 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) young boys and girls, older teens, troubled
youth, frequent Internet users, chat room partici-
pants, online risk takers, and those who commu-
nicate online with strangers are at greater risk for
receiving unwanted sexual solicitation on the Inter-
net;
(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 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 pornog-
raphy, online enticement for sexual acts, child moles-
tation (outside the family), and child prostitution;
(9) 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;
(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 psychological 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 Inter-
net domain for the location of material that is suit-
able for minors 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 to operate and main-
tain the domain with the initial registry, or enter into or
renew any such contract with any successor registry, un-
less such registry enters into an agreement with the
NTIA, during the 90-day period beginning upon the date
of the enactment of the Dot Kids Implementation and Ef-
ficiency Act of 2002 in the case of the initial registry or
during the 90-day period after selection in the case of any
successor registry, as applicable, which provides for the
registry to carry out, and the new domain operates pursu-
ant to, the following requirements:
‘‘(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 require that use of the new do-
main is in accordance with the standards and re-
quirements of the registry.
‘‘(3) Written agreements with registrars, which
shall require registrars to enter into written agree-
ments with registrants, to use the new domain in ac-
cordance with the standards 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 ac-
cordance with the standards and requirements of the
registry.
‘‘(5) A process for removing from the new do-
main 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, expedi-
tious, and impartial dispute resolution process re-
garding any material of the registrant 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 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 do-
main.
‘‘(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 registrants, to prohibit two-way and
multiuser interactive services in the new domain, un-
less the registrant certifies to the registrar that such
service will be offered in compliance with the content
standards established pursuant to paragraph (1) and
is specifically constructed and operated to protect
minors from harm.
‘‘(11) Written agreements with registrars,
which shall require registrars to enter into written
agreements with registrants, to prohibit hyperlinks
in the new domain that take new domain users out-
side of the new domain.
‘‘(12) Any other action that the NTIA con-
siders necessary to establish, operate, or maintain
the new domain in accordance with the purposes 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 appropriate agencies of the
Federal Government regarding procedures and ac-
tions to prevent minors and families who use the
new domain from being targeted by adults and other
children for predatory behavior, exploitation, or ille-
gal actions; and
‘‘(2) based upon the consultations conducted
pursuant to paragraph (1), establish such proce-
dures and take such actions as the registry may
deem necessary to prevent such targeting.
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.—The registry shall pre-
pare, on an annual basis, a report on the registry’s moni-
toring 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 En-
ergy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate.
‘‘(g) SELECTION OF CONTRACTOR.—
‘‘(1) WITHDRAWAL OF REGISTRY.—
‘‘(A) ELECTION
BY
REGISTRY.—Upon a
good faith showing by the registry of the new
domain to the NTIA of extreme financial hard-
ship in the operation of the new domain occur-
ring any time after the date of the enactment
of the Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency
Act of 2002, the registry may elect to relinquish
the right to operate and maintain the new do-
main. Notwithstanding the time of occurrence
of such extreme financial hardship or the time
of such election, the registry may not relinquish
such right before the expiration of the 3-year
period beginning upon such date of enactment.
‘‘(B) SELECTION OF NEW CONTRACTOR.—
If the registry elects to relinquish such right
pursuant to subparagraph (A), the NTIA shall
select a contractor to operate and maintain the
new domain under the competitive bidding proc-
ess established pursuant to paragraph (2).
‘‘(C) EXTREME
FINANCIAL
HARDSHIP.—
For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘ex-
treme financial hardship’ means that each quar-
ter, for a period of 6 or more consecutive quar-
ters, the costs of establishing, operating, and
maintaining the new domain exceed the reve-
nues generated from registrants by more than
25 percent.
‘‘(2) COMPETITIVE BID SELECTION PROCESS.—
The NTIA shall establish a process for soliciting ap-
plications and selecting a contractor to operate and
maintain the new domain pursuant to this sub-
section), which process shall comply with the fol-
lowing requirements:
‘‘(A) TIMING.—The selection process shall
commence and complete not later than (i) 120
days after the registry elects to relinquish the
new domain for extreme financial hardship, or
(ii) the expiration of a contract referred to in
paragraph (4), as applicable.
‘‘(B) NOTICE.—The selection process shall
provide adequate notice to prospective appli-
cants of—
‘‘(i) the opportunity to submit such an
application; and
‘‘(ii) the criteria for selection under
subparagraph (C).
‘‘(C) CRITERIA.—The selection shall be
made pursuant to written, objective criteria de-
signed to ensure—
‘‘(i) that the new domain is operated
and maintained in accordance with the re-
quirements under subsection (b); and
‘‘(ii) that the contractor selected to
operate and maintain the new domain is
the applicant most capable and qualified to
do so.
‘‘(D) REVIEW.—Not more than 60 days
after the conclusion of the period established
for submission of applications, the NTIA
shall—
‘‘(i) review and apply the selection cri-
teria established under subparagraph (C)
to each application submitted; and
‘‘(ii) based upon such criteria and
subject to submission of an application
meeting such criteria, select an application
and award to the applicant a subcontract
for the operation and maintenance of the
new domain.
‘‘(E) FAILURE TO FIND CONTRACTOR.—If
the NTIA fails to find a suitable contractor
pursuant to the process under this paragraph,
the NTIA shall permit the registry to cease op-
eration of the new domain.
‘‘(3) RIGHTS AND DUTIES.—A contractor se-
lected pursuant to this subsection shall have all of
the rights and duties of the registry specified under
this section, except that such duties shall not include
the technical maintenance of the new domain.
‘‘(4) CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT RENEWAL.—In
the case of the expiration of a contract for operation
and maintenance of the new domain with a con-
tractor selected pursuant to paragraph (2), the
NTIA may renew such contract or, subject to para-
graph (2), rebid the contract to a new contractor.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent
the registry of the United States country code Inter-
net domain from bidding to become the contractor of
the new domain.
‘‘(h) 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 oper-
ated as intended.
‘‘(i) 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) REGISTRY.—The term ‘registry’ means the
registry selected to operate and maintain the United
States country code Internet domain.
‘‘(4) SUITABLE FOR MINORS.—The term ‘suit-
able for minors’ means, with respect to material,
that it—
‘‘(A) is not psychologically or intellectually
inappropriate for minors; and
‘‘(B) serves—
‘‘(i) the educational, informational, in-
tellectual, or cognitive needs of minors; or
‘‘(ii) the social, emotional, or enter-
tainment needs of minors.’’.
Passed the House of Representatives May 21, 2002.
Attest:
Clerk.