Advocacy/Laws/Law Enforcement

Communications Decency Act (CDA) - 1996

EIE played a key educational role to Congress by testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the need for legislation to protect children from pornography and predators on the Internet. Effectively communicated the message that materials and activities already outlawed in every other avenue of delivery should not be accessible to children on the Internet. The CDA included the child-stalking provision, which is the law used to prosecute online sexual predators. The federal obscenity statutes were also extended to apply to the Internet.

The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) - 2000

The U.S. Supreme Court, in June of 2003, reversed a lower court decision and upheld CIPA. CIPA requires public libraries that receive government E-rate funding for Internet access to utilize filtering technology to block a minor child’s access to pornography and obscenity. In 1998, EIE staff briefed Senator John McCain and other members of Congress on the early problems of child access to pornography in public libraries and schools. EIE also served as a key catalyst in the effort to get CIPA passed and upheld. In 2000, Congress passed CIPA; it was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, upon which the ACLU and the ALA filed lawsuits, and the law was enjoined for three years. The Supreme Court decision is a landmark victory in child Internet safety protection and a law that EIE was instrumental in getting passed and supported throughout the years.

CIPA - Downloadable PDF

The Child Online Protection Act (COPA) - 1998

COPA passed in 1998 with the leadership and support of EIE staff, which included numerous briefings and advocacy efforts in the House and Senate. COPA mandated that commercial web pornographers based in the U.S. require adult verification before allowing access by minor children to free pornographic content. The law, however, never took effect, as three separate rounds of litigation led to a permanent injunction against the law in 2009.

Donna Rice Hughes served for a year on the congressionally appointed COPA Commission and the EIE team rigorously defended COPA at a press conferences on the steps of the Supreme Court, and continued to support COPA in the news media and in public debates while awaiting the outcome a long ten-year court battle. During COPA's 10 year enjoinment, 9 in 10 children online continued to be exposed to free pornographic pictures. On July 22, 2008, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the 2007 decision. On January 21, 2009, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear appeals of the lower court decision, effectively shutting down the law signed by President Clinton, a bi-partisan Congress and signed into law.

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(COPA Report to Congress - Downloadable PDF)

Child Pornography Prevention Act (CPPA) - 1996

EIE leadership testified before the U.S. Senate in support of CPPA. Once passed, the law was enjoined due to a lawsuit filed by the Free Speech Coalition. Since 1996, EIE has educated the public as to the need for this key legislation that criminalizes 'virtually' created child pornography. In April 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down CPPA.

Dot Kids Domain Name Act of 2001

EIE leadership testified before Congress in support of the bill, in addition to working extensively with the House of Representatives in the writing of the legislation. The Dot Kids Domain Name Act was signed into law on December 4, 2002. EIE continues to provide expertise on the implementation of this new domain designed to give children a safe Internet haven.

Legislative Efforts Advocated for by EIE

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Progress in the Movement to Protect Children Online

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