Regulating Child Porn

Friday, March 11, 2005

From Crosswalk

A Florida Republican congressman introduced a bill Wednesday to prohibit so-called online "child modeling" websites that he says are "nothing more than a fix for pedophiles."

"They don't sell products, they don't sell services - all they serve are young children on a platter for America's most depraved. These sites sell child erotica and they should be banned," said Rep. Mark Foley, co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, in a statement.

The websites feature children as young as four- to six-years-old, Foley said, and cause "immense psychological damage to the children" as well as placing them in "physical danger when contact is made with the people who visit their sites."

The measure would ban all websites that charge fees to view models 16 years of age and under that do not promote specific products or services beyond the child.

"If a child is modeling for Gap or Gucci, it's legal. If the site is selling nothing else than the child via photos or video clips, it should be illegal," said Foley.

While conservatives have good intentions by trying to protect children from the depraved, it can be said that one of the best qualities of the Internet is that it is an unregulated medium by which people can communicate with one another across the globe.

Because Cyberspace isn't a tangible realm, it would be difficult, in a legal sense, to define the boundaries and jurisdictions.

The Internet is an ether, a no-man's land ruled by no one; a Libertarian's fantasy.

Unfortunately, the availability of tax-free purchases, global networking and boundless freedoms such as Vegas-style gambling from Idaho, among other opportunities, comes with it a nasty by-product; predators, child porn and scammers. Play at your own risk.

Rather than try to make specific laws regarding the Internet, use the current ones to effectively prosecute offenders. For example, most states prohibit the creation, possession and distribution of child-porn (actual intercourse involving minors). Federal agents can access websites and through IPs locate offenders working the market.

Imposing restrictions would set a dangerous precedent that could lead the way for complete censorship of something that can’t be claimed by a government of any nation.