_____Cybercrime Headlines_____ • 'Spidey' Already Being Swapped By Online Pirates (Newsbytes, May 6, 2002) • Virus Creator Gets 20-Month Sentence (Associated Press, May 6, 2002) • Laws, Internet Filters Not Enough to Protect Kids Online (Washtech, May 2, 2002) • Tech Policy Section E-Mail This Article Printer-Friendly Version Subscribe to print edition

David McGuire
Washtech.com Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 7, 2002; 3:08 PM

A pair of U.S. lawmakers today will introduce legislation to ban Web sites that feature photos of clothed, but suggestively posed children.

So-called "child modeling" sites like Allcutekids.com and Jessithekid.com feature photographs of prepubescent girls wearing bikinis and other attire. Virtually all of the sites have pay-per-view sections and don't appear to sell anything other than photographs of the girls.

"The only thing they are modeling are themselves," said Chris Paulitz, a spokesman for Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.), who is cosponsoring the legislation. "They are not modeling a product (and) they are not modeling a service."

Foley said that child modeling is a term used by the Web site operators to describe themselves. "We think its child erotica," he said.

Drafted by Foley and Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas), the legislation would ban all Web sites that charge fees to view pictures of children younger than 16. Web sites that sell clothing and other legitimate products would be exempt from the ban.

The legislation also would amend labor law to make it a crime for Web site operators to hire underage children to pose for those sorts of modeling sites, Paulitz said.

The bill would create penalties of up to 10 years in prison for violators.

Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) Associate Director Alan Davidson said he hadn't seen the legislation, but warned that it could send up some constitutional red flags.

"One has to ask the question: Is this likely to pass Supreme Court muster?" Davidson said. "The court has been pretty clear that the standing child pornography (statutes are) the law of the land."

Paulitz said the Foley-Lampson bill was designed to be constitutionally acceptable.

Several states, including New York and Colorado, already ban the child modeling sites, but Paulitz said the nature of the Internet makes it difficult to enforce state statutes.

Paulitz said Foley and Lampson hope to tack their bill onto a recently introduced measure that would ban pornographic images that have been digitally "morphed" to appear to depict children.