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The Fight Against Child Exploitation
by Maureen Sirhal
Several states are turning to new educational programs to warn kids about the dangers of Internet chat rooms and to empower parents to take action against potential predators, a panel of state attorneys general said on Monday.
As the National Association of Attorneys General convened its spring conference in Washington, D.C., this week, members of the organization's Internet Committee shared new approaches to curbing online child porn and solicitations. There is a "clear cry for leadership" to stop the online exploitation of children, Washington state Attorney General Christine Gregoire said.
Kathy Free, program manager for a unit of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said her organization is seeing a spike in complaints from parents and Internet service providers concerning pornographic images. When the center began accepting complaints on a tip line in 1998, it received roughly 100 a week; now it receives about 5,000 a week, Free said.
She told the committee that more porn sites featuring children are the work of commercial venues based outside the United States. "We're definitely seeing an increase in these types of sites, and they're more sophisticated." She added that sites that enable people to share files are serving as a major vehicle for swapping pornographic images of children.
That development presents a challenge to the law enforcement community because peer-to-peer sites involve a direct connection between two computers, Free said.
Meanwhile, Gregoire said that while state officials are hearing more complaints about online predators, most states are too strapped for resources to address every incident. As a result, she and other attorneys general are advocating outreach to parents and children. Gregoire and her staff launched training programs for parents and lectures in schools to advise citizens about ways to reduce the instances of predatory solicitation or the exposure of kids to pornographic images.
Parents learn just how quickly predators will solicit children for meetings or expose themselves to the children using Web cameras if they believe an e-mail address is linked to a minor, Gregoire told the committee. The state has created a Web site that provides information to parents about reporting crimes and offers tips on how to keep their children safe.
The lecture program is intended to help kids avoid the online pitfalls that could make them vulnerable to predators. It is most effective when the kids hear it firsthand from law enforcement officials, Gregoire said. She asks children why they are willing to provide personal information online but not to a stranger in a car, and she said some children register at online dating services or for special deals through commercial sites.
To date, at least 20 attorneys general have requested information on Washington's program.
Utah also has taken steps to protect children online. The state is adopting the NetSmartz program developed last year by the missing children's center. Its Web-based cartoons inform schoolchildren about the dangers of disclosing personal data in online chat rooms, and 18,000 children in Utah will have access to the program. Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's office is coordinating efforts to train teachers how to use it effectively.
Legislative Action From Coast To Coast
The Washington state Senate voted this week to let overseas military personnel vote in next year's election via the Internet.
AP reported that the Senate approved a measure, S.B. 5463, that would renew the state's participation in a Defense Department test program on Internet balloting. Requested by Secretary of State Sam Reed, the measure now moves to the House.
The state Senate also passed legislation that would allow citizens to renew their driver's licenses online for up to five years.
In Massachusetts, meanwhile, Gov. Mitt Romney this week signed a measure to allow the state to participate in the multistate initiative aimed at streamlining sales-tax rules to clear the path for online taxation. Aides to the governor said the move would not violate a pledge he took not to raise state taxes because Massachusetts already requires residents who purchase items in other states or through catalogues to pay state sales taxes.
And New York's Senate last week unanimously approved a similar bill that would authorize the state to collect sales taxes on Internet purchases. Senate leaders said the bill, which would make New York part of the Streamlined Sales Tax Project, could help bolster tax revenues. Republican Gov. George Pataki historically has resisted the move.
New Anti-Spam Bill Targets Advertisers
California state Sen. Kevin Murray on Monday introduced a bill that is designed to stop companies from paying individuals or third-party firms to sending unsolicited e-mail advertising.
Under Murray's measure, S.B. 186, recipients of such spam could sue the companies whose products are featured in the messages. Recipients could collect $1,000 for each spam message. The bill also would allow the state's attorney general to bring action against the advertiser, and the Department of Consumer Affairs would be required to post on its Web site a list of advertisers violating the rules.
"We need to hold advertisers accountable," Murray said. "They have just as much responsibility, if not more, to deter the use of unsolicited e-mail as a means to advertise."
The measure is latest of several proposals in California's legislature to curb junk e-mail.
Insurers Challenge Privacy Measures In Maine
The American Insurance Association (AIA) last week warned a Maine legislative panel that two privacy-related measures would hamper the ability of insurers to provide consumer services in the state. Bill Gerrity, local counsel for AIA, told the Joint Insurance and Financial Services Committee that his group opposes both bills.
The first measure, L.D. 615, would require consumers to consent before their credit reports could be disclosed; the other one, L.D. 661, would require financial services firms to get consumers' permission before sharing personal information with affiliated organizations.
Gerrity argued that the two measures would be inconsistent with current federal rules on financial privacy rules and would render the "normal operations of insurers and other financial services companies impossible." He added that current federal laws -- the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley banking reform law -- "contain important consumer protections, but they also recognize the need for a reasonable flow of information."
Telecom Talk In Texas
SBC Communications may face a battle in the Texas legislature over measures that would ease state regulatory authority over the regional Bell telecommunications firm.
The San Antonio Express-News offered an inside look at how a recent FCC decision to relax telecom rules for high-speed Internet services is impacting SBC's agenda in Texas. Critics of the Bell firm argue that the legislation SBC favors should not be passed in light of the FCC's actions. Some lawmakers said action on the measures should be delayed.
On Wednesday, meanwhile, the FCC gave Verizon Communications, another Bell company, permission to offer long-distance telephone services in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. The 1996 Telecommunications Act requires the Bells to open their markets for local telephone service to competitors before they can begin offering long-distance services.
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