Lee Terry: “I am an enthusiastic supporter and original cosponsor. In fact, this is one of the reasons why I joined the Committee on…”

“I am an enthusiastic supporter and original cosponsor. In fact, this is one of the reasons why I joined the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet is trying to find a safe harbor, a constitutional way of protecting our children on the Internet; and I was proud that two of my colleagues, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), were already lapping me in there and allowed me to join them in that process, and I thank them for that because it is important that we establish a safe haven, a secure area for our children on the Internet. We have heard of a story of an 11-year-old boy looking for computer games, typed in fun.com and unknowingly brought up a pornographic Web site. Two elections ago, my opponent was Michael Scott and any junior high physics class that typed in MichaelScott.com got a porn site. My 7-year-old, yes, 7-year-old, loves to get on the Internet, especially this weekend after we saw ``Spiderman.'' I stand over him. I type it in first because I fear that typing in something as simple as ``Spiderman'' or ``fun'' or a political name may bring up a pornographic Web site. Nearly 24 million youths today use the Internet. By the year 2005, it is expected that 77 million youth will regularly log on. This bill will help preserve our children's innocence and prevent these types of sexual encounters and predators and pornography online.”