Luring children to websites containing sexual content by using child-friendly words may soon be a felony, under new legislation approved by the U.S. Senate Thursday, according to a report by CNET News.com.
The Child Protection and Safety Act would see fines and imprisonment for up to 20 years handed to anyone convicted of deliberately misleading children to view potentially harmful web pages, the report said.
“Whoever knowingly embeds words or digital images into the source code of a website with the intent to deceive a minor into viewing material harmful to minors on the Internet shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not more than 20 years,” the legislation declares.
“This bill will protect children and save countless lives by dramatically improving our efforts against sex offenders and violent criminals,” said Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, after the vote. “Too many parents are devastated by an innocent child exploited and harmed by predators lurking in our communities.”
Webmasters, however, would have to clearly indicate an “intent to deceive” visitors who access the site before they would be subjected to charges under the legislation, a requirement that would leave the application of the law open to extensive judicial interpretation, according to the report.
The legislation would also tighten laws relating to child porn, sex offender registration and child exploitation.
The Senate approved the bill by a voice vote. The House, which voted to approve an earlier version of the bill, is expected to clear the revised version next week and send the legislation to President Bush for his signature. The president endorsed the legislation Friday, saying it would provide “law enforcement officials with the tools they need to track those who prey upon children”.
Previously the Child Protection and Safety Act was amended to include a section called "Truth in Domain Names" or Misleading Domain Names on the Internet.
