President Biden signed into law the bipartisan Revising Existing Procedures on Reporting via Technology (REPORT) Act, authored by U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Jon Ossof (D-GA). This legislation will require Big Tech companies such as Facebook, Snapchat or Instagram to report crimes against children involving sex trafficking, grooming, or the enticement of children for sexual acts to the CyberTipline. (May 27, 2024)
The March 2018 passage of FOSTA allows victims of sex trafficking and prosecutors to finally have the legal tools they need to go after websites that knowingly facilitate sex trafficking and that have historically served as ’online brothels’ of advertisements for traffickers and pimps.
EIE leadership testified before Congress in support of the bill, in addition to working extensively with the House of Representatives in the writing of the legislation. The Dot Kids Domain Name Act was signed into law on December 4, 2002. EIE continues to provide expertise on the implementation of this new domain designed to give children a safe Internet haven.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in June of 2003, reversed a lower court decision and upheld CIPA. CIPA requires public libraries that receive government E-rate funding for Internet access to utilize filtering technology to block a minor child’s access to pornography and obscenity. In 1998, EIE staff briefed Senator John McCain and other members of Congress on the early problems of child access to pornography in public libraries and schools. EIE also served as a key catalyst in the effort to get CIPA passed and upheld. In 2000, Congress passed CIPA; it was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, upon which the ACLU and the ALA filed lawsuits, and the law was enjoined for three years. The Supreme Court decision is a landmark victory in child Internet safety protection and a law that EIE was instrumental in getting passed and supported throughout the years.
COPA passed in 1998 with the leadership and support of EIE staff, which included numerous briefings and advocacy efforts in the House and Senate. COPA mandated that commercial web pornographers based in the U.S. require adult verification before allowing access by minor children to free pornographic content. The law, however, never took effect, as three separate rounds of litigation led to a permanent injunction against the law in 2009.
Donna Rice Hughes served for a year on the congressionally appointed COPA Commission and the EIE team rigorously defended COPA at a press conferences on the steps of the Supreme Court, and continued to support COPA in the news media and in public debates while awaiting the outcome a long ten-year court battle. During COPA's 10 year enjoinment, 9 in 10 children online continued to be exposed to free pornographic pictures. On July 22, 2008, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the 2007 decision. On January 21, 2009, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear appeals of the lower court decision, effectively shutting down the law signed by President Clinton, a bi-partisan Congress and signed into law.
(COPA Report to Congress - Downloadable PDF)
EIE played a key educational role to Congress by testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the need for legislation to protect children from pornography and predators on the Internet. Effectively communicated the message that materials and activities already outlawed in every other avenue of delivery should not be accessible to children on the Internet. The CDA included the child-stalking provision, which is the law used to prosecute online sexual predators. The federal obscenity statutes were also extended to apply to the Internet.
EIE leadership testified before the U.S. Senate in support of CPPA. Once passed, the law was enjoined due to a lawsuit filed by the Free Speech Coalition. Since 1996, EIE has educated the public as to the need for this key legislation that criminalizes 'virtually' created child pornography. In April 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down CPPA.
Oral Testimony from February 14, 2023
Written Testimony from February 14, 2023
Oral Testimony from March 14, 2023
Written Testimony from March 14, 2023
Washington, D.C. October 15, 2003
Provided written testimony on the prosecution of illegal pornography
Washington, D.C. May 23, 2002
Panel discussion titled "Controlling Online Pornography: Options for Parents and Families."
The Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Washington, DC, November 1, 2001 "The Dot Kids Domain Name Act of 2001" (page 26)
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Children and Families
Washington, DC, March 28, 2000
Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on 'Cyberporn'
Testimony from July 24, 1995 (page 111)
