Attorney General John Ashcroft and friendly congresscritters held a press
conference today where they swore to find a way to ban "morphed" child porn
and circumvent those pesky Supreme Court justices. The anti-pornsters
outlined a new bill called the "Child Obscenity and Pornography Prevention
Act of 2002." (A terrible name, since its COPPA abbreviation will
inevitably be confused with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of
1998. Talk about a lack of imagination.)
I've placed the bill here:
http://www.politechbot.com/docs/doj.childporn.bill.050102.html
http://www.politechbot.com/docs/doj.childporn.bill.050102.doc
http://www.politechbot.com/docs/doj.childporn.bill.050102.wpd
One section applies to anyone who "provides any obscene matter or child
pornography, or any visual depiction that is, or is virtually
indistinguishable from, that of a pre-pubescent child engaging in sexually
explicit conduct..."
This comes after the Supreme Court struck down Congress' previous effort,
the "Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996," as unconstitutional:
http://www.politechbot.com/cgi-bin/politech.cgi?name=morphed
Rhetoric was high at today's press conference:
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,52230,00.html
>"I hope this legislation meets the standard set by the Supreme Court,"
>said Rep. Mark Foley (R-Florida). "Pedophiles do not have a First
>Amendment right to gawk over exploited children, real or virtual."
Foley (best known, perhaps, for judging the Congressional Art Competition
and opening up FBI databases so volunteer groups can check names against
them) has placed his statement here:
http://www.gop.gov/item-news.asp?N=20020501102427
More background on the bill, as supplied by the Justice Department:
http://www.politechbot.com/docs/doj.childporn.factsheet.050102.doc
http://www.politechbot.com/docs/doj.childporn.factsheet.050102.wpd
http://www.politechbot.com/docs/doj.childporn.summary.050102.doc
http://www.politechbot.com/docs/doj.childporn.summary.050102.wpd
Of course we knew this was coming. See what I sent to Politech last night:
"Sen. Orrin Hatch vows a second try at 'morphed' kiddie porn law"
http://www.politechbot.com/p-03467.html
-Declan
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Received on May 01 2002
Intro
