The US House of Representatives on Friday approved a bill that
will create a child-friendly internet zone, supposedly free of
violence, pornography and other adult material. The bill, which has
already passed the Senate but had to go back to the House due to
slight language changes, is expected to win presidential
approval.
The Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002 will
create the .kids.us sub-domain, where only material suitable for
children 12 years old and younger will be allowed. The new law
requires web sites bearing .kids.us addresses to certify they do
not contain sexually explicit material, hate speech, violence or
other material unsuitable for minors.
Under the law, the .kids.us web sites will also be subject to
"constant content monitoring and swift takedown of inappropriate
content." The new sub-domain will be controlled by NeuStar, the
company that has been managing the .us country code domain since
autumn 2001.
This is the fourth attempt by the US Congress to pass a law to
protect children using the internet. In the past, three similar
laws were passed, but the US Supreme Court overturned them as
unconstitutional, reasoning that they violated the First Amendment
right of free speech.
The Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act 2002 can be found
at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_bills&docid=f:h3833eh.txt.pdf
