On February 24, the Senate unanimously approved, 84-0, legislation (S. 151) designed to reinstate a ban on virtual child pornography and withstand possible constitutional challenges. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the measure on January 30 (see The Source, 1/31/03).
The Prosecutorial Remedies and Tools Against the Exploitation of Children Today Act (S. 151) is a rewrite of the 1996 Child Pornography Prevention Act (P.L. 104-208), parts of which were declared in violation of the First Amendment by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court said the law went too far in expanding the definition of child pornography to include simulated images that merely appear to be children engaged in sexually explicit acts as well as real-life images. The Court ruled that the broad ban on virtual child sex could ensnare legitimate works of art and literature.
S. 151 would narrow the definition of virtual pornography by requiring consideration of the artistic, literary, political, or scientific value of the work, and contains provisions aimed at helping police and investigators prosecute child pornography cases. The legislation would make it a crime to use child pornography, virtual or not, to pander or entice a minor into engaging in sexual activity and would establish a victim shield law to keep the identity of child victims out of court. Additionally, the bill would increase the penalties for repeat offenders who cross state lines to sexually molest a minor.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), sponsor of the bill, explained, “This bill has gone through more than a dozen rounds of edits since we began drafting it in April 2002.” He continued, “The end result of all of our hard work is a bill that we can all be proud of: one that is tough on pedophiles and child pornographers in a measured and constitutional way.”
“We cannot and we will not permit child pornographers to hide behind the courts or modern technology,” agreed Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY). “We must send child pornographers the message that Congress will not tolerate child abuse or child pornography, today, tomorrow, or ever, no matter what the state of technology is,” he said. “This bill helps us take a big step in that direction,” he added.
The legislation will be sent to the House where similar legislation passed during the 107th Congress (see The Source, 6/28/02).
