• Brandon Leonard •
• Originally published October 31, 2008 at 6:59 p.m., updated October 31, 2008 at 6:59 p.m.

The Internet has revolutionized the way we communicate, learn, and conduct business in the 21st century. Although these advancements have significantly benefited our society, they are also accompanied by a host of dangers that pose the greatest threat to our nation's children.

The Internet can be a hunting ground for sexual predators seeking minors to exploit. It has also become a marketplace for pornography - 20 percent of which, disturbingly, involves children. Furthermore, when children and teens go online, odds are they will be exposed to sexual material.

A London School of Economics study found that nine in 10 children under age 16 have unintentionally accessed sexually-oriented Web sites, often in the process of doing homework or by entering a seemingly innocent term into an Internet search engine.

On Sept. 15, Oprah Winfrey used her daytime talk show to spotlight the issue and generate public support for Senate legislation that I cosponsored to address child exploitation. The Protect Our Children Act was swiftly passed in both chambers of the Congress and President Bush signed it into law on Oct. 14.

Passage of the Protect Our Children Act will help ensure that sex offenders are brought to justice. The bill establishes a task force at the U.S. Department of Justice that will coordinate the efforts of state and local officials to address online enticement of children, child exploitation and pornography. It also directs the Attorney General to establish a National Internet Crimes Against Children Data System to support the investigation and prosecution of child exploitation crimes.

Finally, the bill makes significant changes to federal criminal law by allowing expanded prosecution of crimes involving child exploitation, selling or buying children, material involving sexual exploitation of minors or containing child pornography, and obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children.

However, that bill alone is not a complete solution. Two other critical pieces of legislation that I cosponsored will help us tackle every aspect of the issue. Both were also signed into law in October.

The Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators (KIDS) Act mandates that convicted sex offenders register their e-mail addresses, instant messaging screen names, or other identifiers used to communicate over the Internet. It also requires the Attorney General to maintain a system that will enable commercial social networking sites to identify users who are listed in the National Sex Offender Registry. These measures will deter deviant individuals from using social networking Web sites frequented by children and builds on the successful efforts of the National Sex Offender Registry.

The second bill combats online exploitation by raising awareness of online risks and promoting safe use of the Internet. The Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act creates an Online Safety and Technology Working Group that will assess current parental control technology, blocking and filtering software, and age-appropriate labels for content. The bill also requires schools receiving funding from the federal Universal Service program to offer age-appropriate online behavior education in the classroom.

The goal is to help school-aged children safely navigate the Internet. Lastly, the legislation calls on the Federal Trade Commission to carry out a nationwide program to raise public awareness.

In the 21st century, it is neither practicable nor constructive to keep our children out of the expanses of cyberspace.

Therefore, it is critically important for legislators, law enforcement officials, educators, and parents to continue to work together to keep the Internet a safe space where our children can benefit from its valuable communication capabilities and limitless information resources.

Parents must have an open dialogue with their children about safe Internet usage and encourage kids to report dangers they encounter online.

It is equally important that parents share information with local officials, law enforcement agencies, and advocacy groups.

Together, we can protect our children and stay ahead of savvy predators and changing technology.

 

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is the senior U.S. senator from Texas.

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