FC: House votes 413 to 8, once again, to restrict "morphed" child porn

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

The vote:
http://clerkweb.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.exe?year=2002&rollnumber=256

The bill:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.4623:
Latest text:
http://www.politechbot.com/docs/childporn.revised.062502.pdf

Politech archive:
http://www.politechbot.com/docs/childporn.revised.062502.pdf

---

http://news.com.com/2100-1023-939407.html?tag=fd_top

   House passes ban on "morphed" erotica
   By Declan McCullagh 
   Staff Writer, CNET News.com
   June 25, 2002, 10:10 PM PT
   WASHINGTON--The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly
   Tuesday to restrict computer-generated sex images of minors.
   
   The 413-to-8 vote aims to circumvent a recent Supreme Court decision
   that nixed an earlier ban on "morphed" erotica. A similar proposal has
   been introduced in the Senate. With the enthusiastic backing of both
   Democrats and Republicans, final passage of a bill this year is all
   but certain.
   
   "This bill closes the door left open by the recent Supreme Court
   decision," Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said at a press conference
   Tuesday. "I urge the Senate to take action immediately."
   
   Law enforcement considers restrictions on computer-generated images a
   key tool in fighting child pornography, backing that has made the
   issue an easy sell in Washington despite lingering constitutional
   concerns. Congress has moved swiftly to pass replacement legislation
   after the high court struck down the previous law on April 16 on First
   Amendment grounds.
   
   Immediately after the court's decision, politicians from both major
   parties pledged to try again.
   
   That afternoon, Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican and one-time
   Mormon bishop, vowed to "craft new legislation." Attorney General John
   Aschroft held a press conference two weeks later to lend the Bush
   administration's support to the letter to Congress offering tips on
   how to craft a law that would survive Supreme Court scrutiny.
   
   Ashcroft said in a statement Tuesday evening that the bill "will
   strengthen the ability of law enforcement to protect children from
   abuse and exploitation. I urge the Senate to bring this important
   legislation to the floor as soon as possible."
   
   The new bill includes relatively minor changes to the 1996 version of
   the law, known as the Child Pornography Prevention Act. That
   legislation had prohibited any image that "appears to be" a minor.
   
   By contrast, the new Child Obscenity and Pornography Prevention Act
   (COPPA) refers to any computer-generated image that is "virtually
   indistinguishable from that of a minor engaging in sexually explicit
   conduct."
   
   Supporters of the new legislation claim it has been carefully crafted
   to pass constitutional muster. Rep. Adam Schiff, a California
   Democrat, said COPPA had been written "as narrowly as possible" to
   avoid running afoul of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of
   expression.
   
   But some legal scholars said they are dubious about whether the
   changes will be sufficient to survive an expected legal challenge,
   once the bill becomes law.
   
   "I don't understand why they think this statute is going to eradicate
   any of the problems that the Supreme Court explicitly delineated in
   its recent decision," said Megan Gray, a lawyer at the Electronic
   Privacy Information Center who specializes in free speech law.
   
   The courts have repeatedly turned back attempts to limit digital
   pornography, striking down laws aimed at curtailing publication of
   smut on the Internet and requiring public libraries to filter Internet
   content.
   
   In their April ruling, a 6-3 majority of the justices wrote that
   Congress' first try at banning "morphed" porn was akin to prohibiting
   dirty thoughts.
   
   "First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks
   to control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end,"
   Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority. "The right to think is
   the beginning of freedom, and speech must be protected from the
   government because speech is the beginning of thought."
   
   Prosecutors argue that the COPPA bill is needed, since otherwise it is
   too difficult to prove that an actual child was involved in the
   production of an electronic image on, say, a seized hard drive.
   
   But foes of COPPA in the House Judiciary Committee called the measure
   "a hasty attempt drafted by the Department of Justice to override the
   United States Supreme Court's decision," which is "fatally flawed."
   
   Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the top Democrat on the committee, voted
   against COPPA on Tuesday. The only Republican to vote against COPPA
   was libertarian firebrand Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.
   
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