Friday, July 28th, 2006
The following was posted earlier this year - around May, 2006
Re-thinking The Entire Issue - How to Prevent Access to Porn By Children Â
We believe that the Internet is a wonderful resource for everyone, but especially for families and children. Past efforts to “protect” children from predators and pornography online have focused on creating separate children’s Internets.
We oppose that type of solution. Children need and deserve to be able to surf the Internet as freely as they are able to enjoy playing safely in their neighborhoods. In fact we think that it is their right.
Let’s figure out ways to separate the adult content not the children. The Internet is too important a resource to give up to the adult trade.
AFSAC has been here for some time but recently we’ve decided to convert our site to a blog. Our entries most often are a series of letters responding to the issues that come up. Here is our old site for a historical perspective. Our goal however is to become pro-active rather than reactive. I’ve had this issue on my heart and mind for a long time. There are so many valid viewpoints. I think we finally have come up with the best of all solutions…
That solution is to prevent the viewing of pornographic images by minors online by requiring adult sites to get credit card data before allowing access.Â
Today most adult sites portray a certain amount of adult material for free. It is relatively easy to find and access, even by minors. If adult site operators were required to get a credit card first they could still do their business (yes we must maintain our freedom expression) but this would go a long way towards limiting access to minors.Â
I can already hear the critics saying that all we’d be doing is making it easier for off shore pornography competitors. Well quite frankly I am speaking only for Americans and I think it’s time that we do something about this growing problem.
If you agree (and even if you don’t) please write to us.
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The following was originally posted around May, 2006
If You Allow Children to View Pornography, You Are A Child Pornographer.
That’s my opinion. It is not the legal definition of “child pornography” in the United States but I think anyone with a decent moral compass would agree that for us to allow children to easily view pornography is wrong. Showing children pornography is also a common tool for pedophiles in their pursuit of victims.
A recent sting by the Riverside Police department in cooperation with Perverted Justice caught over 50 men in a period of two days attempting to meet children to have sex. Many of them used pornography as part of their methods. Some sent pictures of themselves and some just pointed kids to these types of pictures during their conversations.Â
If this is any indication of the pervasiveness of this problem then we as a society have a serious problem that needs serious solutions. The Internet has changed the world. We can no longer afford to let Internet policy happen in the absence of concern about what goes on with our children online.Â
We would never allow our neighborhoods to be safe havens for pornographers and pedophiles and we must not allow the Internet to be their safe haven either. Our children are much more important than the rights of pornographers and pedophiles.Â
Our children should have the right to the free unencumbered use of the Internet and we should not have to worry about them running across pornography online. The Victims of Crime Assistance League (VOCAL)Â in NSW Australia defines “Child Sexual Abuse” as follows…
“It is any act of a sexual nature committed on a young person or child. An adult adolescent or older, more advanced child can use their superior power and authority to involve a child in any sexual activity. This includes touching or fondling of the private parts of or by the child displaying photographing or filming a child for sexual purposes, exposing children’s sexual organs, pornography, including the child in adult sexual behaviour, sexual penetration of any part of the child by any part of the offender’s body.”
I agree with this definition. If you do as well then why do we as a society continue to allow pornographers free access to our children via the Internet.
As I write this article the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN) is preparing to approve the new .XXX domain name. The momentum was slowed in 2005 but not stopped. Proponents of this new Top Level Domain (TLD) are trying to force the board at ICANN to finally approve this TLD basically by calling them chicken and stating that they are a puppet of the U.S. Department of Commerce. They think that the forces of business are enough to stop the problem of access to pornography by our children.Â
This is a problem that can only be stopped by our governments.It will not be solved by the addition of a new .XXX TLD. All that is doing is pandering to business interests who seem to me by their actions to have little regard for the safety of our children on the Internet and are more concerned with profits.
I’ve thought about the problem for years and my conclusion is that the best solution is to require adult sites to stop giving free access to pornography unless and until a potential site visitor checks in with a valid credit card proving that they are an adult.Â
Today most adult web sites give out “free samples” via their sites or via e-mail. These samples are often viewed by minors.Â
That is just wrong and should not be allowed.
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The following was originally posted around March, 2006
Confusing .XXX Proposals
Senator Baucus from Montana and Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas are proposing a .xxx Internet domain name with requirements that adult content be located only there.The actual text of the proposal is not out yet but if it forces existing pornographic sites to relocate on .xxx this may be a good thing.Â
The problem is that an earlier proposal  .xxx is up for approval any day now at ICANN in a flawed format. By proposing this now the Senators may actually be helping the wrong people.Â
The .xxx domain name proposal in it’s present form only makes more room for pornography on the Internet. The proponents are staunchly against any requirements that adult material be relocated there.Â
They have even funded a war chest of $250 000 which is slated to fight any legislation like this. From their actions the organization who is promoting the .XXX domain name seems to have no interest in protecting children and seems only interested in getting their baby (.xxx) created.Â
They know how difficult it will be to force adult webmasters to abandon their .com addresses and migrate to a new domain. .XXX proponents have created what I see as a front organization the IFFOR with stated goals to “safeguard children” but whose board would have only one representative out of seven that would stand for children’s protection. The rest would stand for business interests and the adult trade.
Adult webmasters will never give up their valuable .com domains for a new unproven .xxx. They just won’t do it without the force of law. I have rallied against the .xxx program for a long time but I now feel that there is a better solution to the problem of children’s easy access to pornography online. Simply stated…  Â
Access to adult content should be prohibited unless and until a potential viewer enters a valid credit card number. Adult site operators should not be allowed to give out free samples to any visitors.
This “Free Sample Adult Material” should only be allowed once a user has entered a valid credit card to prove that they are 18 or older.  Most adult sites give away plenty of access to adult material to anyone that will fill in a simple form stating they are above 18. The only thing that stands between a child and that child’s access to adult content is a little white lie with no perceived consequences.Â
There are countless directories that aggregate free adult content and get paid for referring surfers to the free samples. This makes access for kids very easy. But young children 18 or under don’t have easy access to a credit card (without their parents consent) so a requirement that no free samples be shown without a credit card having been entered could go a long way to prevent access of adult materials to kids.  Â
Certainly it will be argued that this only hurts US proprietors but we need to draw a line in the sand on this issue.Â
Our kids are getting hurt more and more every day because of it. This is a complex issue but there are much more complex problems being solved in the name of the almighty dollar. How much more valuable our the hearts and souls of our children?  Something that works needs to be done soon.Â
Lastly the reason I think this may be the best solution is that I’m not sure that we’ll ever get past the constitutional defenses on the .xxx solution.Â
Do I think that .xxx should be approved? Absolutely not. I see no reason to legitimize pornography online. There is plenty enough of it without giving it special treatment.  If it does get approved I just hope that our government will make sure that it includes a requirement that adult material move there but the credit card idea seems more feasible to me.   Â
I’m actually quite sad because I watch the industry closely and I think that in spite of all its flaws we will before April of this year see the approval of .XXX (with no restrictions) by ICANN. I hope I’m wrong.   Unfortunately our government leaders (both Democrat and Republican) come up with proposals that don’t solve problems. I’m sure they are well meaning but so far most proposals have been ineffective.     Â