Kids Act

Floor Speech

KIDS ACT -- (Senate - October 01, 2008)

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I rise today to address a pressing issue that deserves our immediate attention: the improved protection of children on the Internet. That is why, at the beginning of this Congress, I authored and introduced S. 431, the Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators, or KIDS, Act.

The increasing popularity of social networking Web sites and their ready availability to children has made these sites potential hotbeds for sexual predators, who can easily camouflage themselves amidst the throng of users on these sites, while furtively pursuing their own despicable designs. In the 21st century, just as we protect children in our physical neighborhoods, we must protect them in our online communities as well. The KIDS Act, S. 431, is a bipartisan bill that does just that.

The KIDS Act requires convicted sex offenders to register their e-mail addresses, instant message names, and all other Internet identifiers with the National Sex Offender Registry. The Department of Justice, DOJ, would then make this information, on a qualified basis, available to social networking sites to compare the catalogued identifiers with those of their users. And it will do so in a way that carefully preserves the privacy of the users of any such Web site.

The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, SORNA, passed as part of the Adam Walsh Act, granted the Attorney General the authority to require the registration of certain identifying information, 42 U.S.C. 16914(a). While DOJ recently exercised its authority to collect ``other information required'' to issue final rules concerning the collection and release of Internet identifiers, this legislation permanently mandates that certain Internet identifier information be required in the registration process.

The amended bill continues to exempt Internet identifiers from public disclosure by States or DOJ.

The amended legislation requires the Attorney General to ensure that there are procedures in place to notify sex offenders of changes in requirements.

The legislation clarifies the definition of ``social networking site'' to assure that access to Internet identifiers is targeted to the bill's purpose of protecting children from solicitation by sex offenders on social networking sites. Sites may obtain information from DOJ only if they are focused on social interaction and their users include a significant number of minors. A ``significant number'' of minors, of course, clearly does not mean that the majority of users, or even a substantial minority, must be minors to qualify a Web site to participate, nor does it mean any particular quantity. The intent here is simply to permit the participation of any Web site that draws many minors; otherwise the law's purpose and effectiveness would be undermined.

As amended, the bill further allows social networking sites to employ contractors to assist with the checking process, but intends that these contractors will be subject to the same requirements that protect privacy interests.

The legislation still sets out a system for checking Internet identifiers and includes more robust privacy protections. Web sites may obtain a list of offenders' Internet identifiers from DOJ but only in a protected and secure form. Only after making a match can the Web site view the Internet identifier in unprotected form and request specific additional items of personal information about the registered sex offender. Web sites will require this additional information in order to ensure that people who are not registered offenders are not wrongly blocked from using their Web sites.

Moreover, as a qualification for the use of the checking system, social networking Web sites must provide the Attorney General a description of policies and procedures for protecting all shared information and policies for allowing users the ability to challenge their denial of access. This mechanism seeks to ensure a process to identify and remove false positives from sex offender registries. If a Web site discovers incorrect information, the Web site is required to inform DOJ and the State registry so that they can correct the information.

There is now a new section modifying minimum standards required for electronic monitoring units used in the sexual offender monitoring pilot program established under the Adam Walsh Act. DOJ agrees that this change is needed. This will open up program participation to many more States and companies.

The legislation no longer includes the stand-alone criminal offense for knowing failure to register an Internet identifier. That provision was deemed unnecessary because existing law clearly criminalizes the failure to register information that the Attorney General requires convicted sex offenders to register under SORNA. The KIDS Act, relying on section 114(a)(7) of SORNA, specifically mandates that this required information include Internet identifiers. Thus, under the existing SORNA framework, as enhanced by the KIDS Act, failure to register Internet identifiers as required will be treated as any other registration violation punishable under 18 USC §2250(a)(3).

This bill represents a vital step toward giving both law enforcement and businesses the tools they need to protect children from online sexual predators and toward making the Internet a safer place for children to communicate with their peers.

The use of the Internet as a communications tool will continue to expand, and it is important that we put safeguards in place, so that our children can continue to benefit from advances in communications technology without putting them in harm's way.

I thank the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, NCMEC, MySpace, Facebook, Enough is Enough, RAINN, the American Family Association, the National Association of School Resource Officers, and the American Association of Christian Schools for endorsing the KIDS Act. I thank my colleagues for their support of this important bill and urge the President to sign it quickly into law.

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