WASHINGTON - Tougher penalties could be the fate of Internet service providers under a bill passed Wednesday by the House of Representatives.
In addition to that action, which could impose specific responsibilities on ISPs to report child pornography on their sites, the House also approved a bill to double spending for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The first bill, which passed by a vote of 409-2, expands the reporting duties of ISPs in regard to violations of child pornography to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Reports would need to include the Internet identity and geographic location of suspected sex offenders and the time child pornography was downloaded. ISPs would also be responsible for holding onto the images for investigative purposes.
Failure to report child pornography incidents could result in fines of up to $150,000 per image, per day. The current fine is $50,000. Subsequent penalties would increase to $300,000.
With a favorable vote of 408-3, the second bill will increase funding to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to $40 million a year through 2013. The center works in conjunction with the Justice Department, the FBI and other federal agencies to prevent child abuse. The nonprofit center was started in 1984.
