William Tauzin: “I rise in support of H.R. 3783, the Child Online Protection Act. Last month the Committee on Commerce overwhelmingly…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 3783, the Child Online Protection Act. Last month the Committee on Commerce overwhelmingly approved this bill. The bill as adopted would simply make it illegal to sell pornography to minors on the World Wide Web unless and until an adult verification system is in place. Let me make it clear, the bill does not try to control the sale of that material to adults. Neither does it say one cannot sell it to a minor for whom an adult says it is okay. It simply says that insofar as the sale of material to a minor, that the producer of that product cannot do so without the consent of the parents in an adult verification system that actually works. It directs the FTC to promulgate regulations within a year of the date of the act prohibiting commercial websites and online operators from collecting personally identifying information from children 12 and under, unless certain requirements are met. This is an FTC agreement that has been reached and supported and already adopted on the other side that we have added by amendment to this bill. Further, the public posting of children's identifying information in chat rooms and other online forums may pose safety concerns, and the bill simply protects against those things happening.”