Communications Decency Act

 The Communications Decency Act (CDA) was Title V of the United States' Telecommunications Act of 1996.

More info on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Decency_Act

 

 TITLE V--OBSCENITY AND VIOLENCE
               SUBTITLE A--OBSCENE, HARASSING, AND WRONGFUL UTILIZATION OF
                              TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES
          SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE.
            This title may be cited as the `Communications Decency Act of
          1996'.
          SEC. 502. OBSCENE OR HARASSING USE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES
                            UNDER THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934.
            Section 223 (47 U.S.C. 223) is amended--
                (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting in lieu thereof:
            `(a) Whoever--
                `(1) in interstate or foreign communications--
                    `(A) by means of a telecommunications device knowingly--
                        `(i) makes, creates, or solicits, and
                        `(ii) initiates the transmission of,
                  any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other
                  communication which is obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy,
                  or indecent, with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or
                  harass another person;
                    `(B) by means of a telecommunications device knowingly--
                        `(i) makes, creates, or solicits, and
                        `(ii) initiates the transmission of,
                  any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other
                  communication which is obscene or indecent, knowing that
                  the recipient of the communication is under 18 years of
                  age, regardless of whether the maker of such communication
                  placed the call or initiated the communication;
                    `(C) makes a telephone call or utilizes a
                  telecommunications device, whether or not conversation or
                  communication ensues, without disclosing his identity and
                  with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person
                  at the called number or who receives the communications;
                    `(D) makes or causes the telephone of another repeatedly
                  or continuously to ring, with intent to harass any person
                  at the called number; or
                    `(E) makes repeated telephone calls or repeatedly
                  initiates communication with a telecommunications device,
                  during which conversation or communication ensues, solely
                  to harass any person at the called number or who receives
                  the communication; or
                `(2) knowingly permits any telecommunications facility under
              his control to be used for any activity prohibited by paragraph
              (1) with the intent that it be used for such activity,
          shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned
          not more than two years, or both.'; and
                (2) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
            `(d) Whoever--
                `(1) in interstate or foreign communications knowingly--
                    `(A) uses an interactive computer service to send to a
                  specific person or persons under 18 years of age, or
                    `(B) uses any interactive computer service to display in
                  a manner available to a person under 18 years of age,
              any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other
              communication that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms
              patently offensive as measured by contemporary community
              standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs, regardless
              of whether the user of such service placed the call or
              initiated the communication; or
                `(2) knowingly permits any telecommunications facility under
              such person's control to be used for an activity prohibited by
              paragraph (1) with the intent that it be used for such activity,
          shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned
          not more than two years, or both.
            `(e) In addition to any other defenses available by law:
                `(1) No person shall be held to have violated subsection (a)
              or (d) solely for providing access or connection to or from a
              facility, system, or network not under that person's control,
              including transmission, downloading, intermediate storage,
              access software, or other related capabilities that are
              incidental to providing such access or connection that does not
              include the creation of the content of the communication.
                `(2) The defenses provided by paragraph (1) of this
              subsection shall not be applicable to a person who is a
              conspirator with an entity actively involved in the creation or
              knowing distribution of communications that violate this
              section, or who knowingly advertises the availability of such
              communications.
                `(3) The defenses provided in paragraph (1) of this
              subsection shall not be applicable to a person who provides
              access or connection to a facility, system, or network engaged
              in the violation of this section that is owned or controlled by
              such person.
                `(4) No employer shall be held liable under this section for
              the actions of an employee or agent unless the employee's or
              agent's conduct is within the scope of his or her employment or
              agency and the employer (A) having knowledge of such conduct,
              authorizes or ratifies such conduct, or (B) recklessly
              disregards such conduct.
                `(5) It is a defense to a prosecution under subsection
              (a)(1)(B) or (d), or under subsection (a)(2) with respect to
              the use of a facility for an activity under subsection
              (a)(1)(B) that a person--
                    `(A) has taken, in good faith, reasonable, effective, and
                  appropriate actions under the circumstances to restrict or
                  prevent access by minors to a communication specified in
                  such subsections, which may involve any appropriate
                  measures to restrict minors from such communications,
                  including any method which is feasible under available
                  technology; or
                    `(B) has restricted access to such communication by
                  requiring use of a verified credit card, debit account,
                  adult access code, or adult personal identification number.
                `(6) The Commission may describe measures which are
              reasonable, effective, and appropriate to restrict access to
              prohibited communications under subsection (d). Nothing in this
              section authorizes the Commission to enforce, or is intended to
              provide the Commission with the authority to approve, sanction,
              or permit, the use of such measures. The Commission shall have
              no enforcement authority over the failure to utilize such
              measures. The Commission shall not endorse specific products
              relating to such measures. The use of such measures shall be
              admitted as evidence of good faith efforts for purposes of
              paragraph (5) in any action arising under subsection (d).
              Nothing in this section shall be construed to treat interactive
              computer services as common carriers or telecommunications
              carriers.
            `(f)(1) No cause of action may be brought in any court or
          administrative agency against any person on account of any activity
          that is not in violation of any law punishable by criminal or civil
          penalty, and that the person has taken in good faith to implement a
          defense authorized under this section or otherwise to restrict or
          prevent the transmission of, or access to, a communication
          specified in this section.
            `(2) No State or local government may impose any liability for
          commercial activities or actions by commercial entities, nonprofit
          libraries, or institutions of higher education in connection with
          an activity or action described in subsection (a)(2) or (d) that is
          inconsistent with the treatment of those activities or actions
          under this section:  [Italic->] Provided, however [<-Italic] , That
          nothing herein shall preclude any State or local government from
          enacting and enforcing complementary oversight, liability, and
          regulatory systems, procedures, and requirements, so long as such
          systems, procedures, and requirements govern only intrastate
          services and do not result in the imposition of inconsistent
          rights, duties or obligations on the provision of interstate
          services. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude any State or
          local government from governing conduct not covered by this section.
            `(g) Nothing in subsection (a), (d), (e), or (f) or in the
          defenses to prosecution under subsection (a) or (d) shall be
          construed to affect or limit the application or enforcement of any
          other Federal law.
            `(h) For purposes of this section--
                `(1) The use of the term `telecommunications device' in this
              section--
                    `(A) shall not impose new obligations on broadcasting
                  station licensees and cable operators covered by obscenity
                  and indecency provisions elsewhere in this Act; and
                    `(B) does not include an interactive computer service.
                `(2) The term `interactive computer service' has the meaning
              provided in section 230(e)(2).
                `(3) The term `access software' means software (including
              client or server software) or enabling tools that do not create
              or provide the content of the communication but that allow a
              user to do any one or more of the following:
                    `(A) filter, screen, allow, or disallow content;
                    `(B) pick, choose, analyze, or digest content; or
                    `(C) transmit, receive, display, forward, cache, search,
                  subset, organize, reorganize, or translate content.
                `(4) The term `institution of higher education' has the
              meaning provided in section 1201 of the Higher Education Act of
              1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141).
                `(5) The term `library' means a library eligible for
              participation in State-based plans for funds under title III of
              the Library Services and Construction Act (20 U.S.C. 355e et
              seq.).'.
          SEC. 503. OBSCENE PROGRAMMING ON CABLE TELEVISION.
            Section 639 (47 U.S.C. 559) is amended by striking `not more than
          $10,000' and inserting `under title 18, United States Code,'.
          SEC. 504. SCRAMBLING OF CABLE CHANNELS FOR NONSUBSCRIBERS.
            Part IV of title VI (47 U.S.C. 551 et seq.) is amended by adding
          at the end the following:
          `SEC. 640. SCRAMBLING OF CABLE CHANNELS FOR NONSUBSCRIBERS.
            `(a) SUBSCRIBER REQUEST- Upon request by a cable service
          subscriber, a cable operator shall, without charge, fully scramble
          or otherwise fully block the audio and video programming of each
          channel carrying such programming so that one not a subscriber does
          not receive it.
            `(b) DEFINITION- As used in this section, the term `scramble'
          means to rearrange the content of the signal of the programming so
          that the programming cannot be viewed or heard in an understandable
          manner.'.
          SEC. 505. SCRAMBLING OF SEXUALLY EXPLICIT ADULT VIDEO SERVICE
                            PROGRAMMING.
            (a) REQUIREMENT- Part IV of title VI (47 U.S.C. 551 et seq.), as
          amended by this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the
          following:
          `SEC. 641. SCRAMBLING OF SEXUALLY EXPLICIT ADULT VIDEO SERVICE
                            PROGRAMMING.
            `(a) REQUIREMENT- In providing sexually explicit adult
          programming or other programming that is indecent on any channel of
          its service primarily dedicated to sexually-oriented programming, a
          multichannel video programming distributor shall fully scramble or
          otherwise fully block the video and audio portion of such channel
          so that one not a subscriber to such channel or programming does
          not receive it.
            `(b) IMPLEMENTATION- Until a multichannel video programming
          distributor complies with the requirement set forth in subsection
          (a), the distributor shall limit the access of children to the
          programming referred to in that subsection by not providing such
          programming during the hours of the day (as determined by the
          Commission) when a significant number of children are likely to
          view it.
            `(c) DEFINITION- As used in this section, the term `scramble'
          means to rearrange the content of the signal of the programming so
          that the programming cannot be viewed or heard in an understandable
          manner.'.
            (b) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
          take effect 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
          SEC. 506. CABLE OPERATOR REFUSAL TO CARRY CERTAIN PROGRAMS.
            (a) PUBLIC, EDUCATIONAL, AND GOVERNMENTAL CHANNELS- Section
          611(e) (47 U.S.C. 531(e)) is amended by inserting before the period
          the following: `, except a cable operator may refuse to transmit
          any public access program or portion of a public access program
          which contains obscenity, indecency, or nudity'.
            (b) CABLE CHANNELS FOR COMMERCIAL USE- Section 612(c)(2) (47
          U.S.C. 532(c)(2)) is amended by striking `an operator' and
          inserting `a cable operator may refuse to transmit any leased
          access program or portion of a leased access program which contains
          obscenity, indecency, or nudity and'.
          SEC. 507. CLARIFICATION OF CURRENT LAWS REGARDING COMMUNICATION OF
                            OBSCENE MATERIALS THROUGH THE USE OF COMPUTERS.
            (a) IMPORTATION OR TRANSPORTATION- Section 1462 of title 18,
          United States Code, is amended--
                (1) in the first undesignated paragraph, by inserting `or
              interactive computer service (as defined in section 230(e)(2)
              of the Communications Act of 1934)' after `carrier'; and
                (2)  in the second undesignated paragraph--
                    (A) by inserting `or receives,' after `takes';
                    (B) by inserting `or interactive computer service (as
                  defined in section 230(e)(2) of the Communications Act of
                  1934)' after `common carrier'; and
                    (C) by inserting `or importation' after `carriage'.
            (b) TRANSPORTATION FOR PURPOSES OF SALE OR DISTRIBUTION- The
          first undesignated paragraph of section 1465 of title 18, United
          States Code, is amended--
                (1) by striking `transports in' and inserting `transports or
              travels in, or uses a facility or means of,';
                (2) by inserting `or an interactive computer service (as
              defined in section 230(e)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934)
              in or affecting such commerce' after `foreign commerce' the
              first place it appears;
                (3) by striking `, or knowingly travels in' and all that
              follows through `obscene material in interstate or foreign
              commerce,' and inserting `of'.
            (c) INTERPRETATION- The amendments made by this section are
          clarifying and shall not be interpreted to limit or repeal any
          prohibition contained in sections 1462 and 1465 of title 18, United
          States Code, before such amendment, under the rule established in
          United States v. Alpers, 338 U.S. 680 (1950).
          SEC. 508. COERCION AND ENTICEMENT OF MINORS.
            Section 2422 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
                (1) by inserting `(a)' before `Whoever knowingly'; and
                (2) by adding at the end the following:
            `(b) Whoever, using any facility or means of interstate or
          foreign commerce, including the mail, or within the special
          maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States,
          knowingly persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any individual
          who has not attained the age of 18 years to engage in prostitution
          or any sexual act for which any person may be criminally
          prosecuted, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title
          or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.'.
          SEC. 509. ONLINE FAMILY EMPOWERMENT.
            Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 201 et
          seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
          `SEC. 230. PROTECTION FOR PRIVATE BLOCKING AND SCREENING OF
                            OFFENSIVE MATERIAL.
            `(a) FINDINGS- The Congress finds the following:
                `(1) The rapidly developing array of Internet and other
              interactive computer services available to individual Americans
              represent an extraordinary advance in the availability of
              educational and informational resources to our citizens.
                `(2) These services offer users a great degree of control
              over the information that they receive, as well as the
              potential for even greater control in the future as technology
              develops.
                `(3) The Internet and other interactive computer services
              offer a forum for a true diversity of political discourse,
              unique opportunities for cultural development, and myriad
              avenues for intellectual activity.
                `(4) The Internet and other interactive computer services
              have flourished, to the benefit of all Americans, with a
              minimum of government regulation.
                `(5) Increasingly Americans are relying on interactive media
              for a variety of political, educational, cultural, and
              entertainment services.
            `(b) POLICY- It is the policy of the United States--
                `(1) to promote the continued development of the Internet and
              other interactive computer services and other interactive media;
                `(2) to preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that
              presently exists for the Internet and other interactive
              computer services,  unfettered by Federal or State regulation;
                `(3) to encourage the development of technologies which
              maximize user control over what information is received by
              individuals, families, and schools who use the Internet and
              other interactive computer services;
                `(4) to remove disincentives for the development and
              utilization of blocking and filtering technologies that empower
              parents to restrict their children's access to objectionable or
              inappropriate online material; and
                `(5) to ensure vigorous enforcement of Federal criminal laws
              to deter and punish trafficking in obscenity, stalking, and
              harassment by means of computer.
            `(c) PROTECTION FOR `GOOD SAMARITAN' BLOCKING AND SCREENING OF
          OFFENSIVE MATERIAL-
                `(1) TREATMENT OF PUBLISHER OR SPEAKER- No provider or user
              of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the
              publisher or speaker of any information provided by another
              information content provider.
                `(2) CIVIL LIABILITY- No provider or user of an interactive
              computer service shall be held liable on account of--
                    `(A) any action voluntarily taken in good faith to
                  restrict access to or availability of material that the
                  provider or user considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious,
                  filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise
                  objectionable, whether or not such material is
                  constitutionally protected; or
                    `(B) any action taken to enable or make available to
                  information content providers or others the technical means
                  to restrict access to material described in paragraph (1).
            `(d) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS-
                `(1) NO EFFECT ON CRIMINAL LAW- Nothing in this section shall
              be construed to impair the enforcement of section 223 of this
              Act, chapter 71 (relating to obscenity) or 110 (relating to
              sexual exploitation of children) of title 18, United States
              Code, or any other Federal criminal statute.
                `(2) NO EFFECT ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW- Nothing in this
              section shall be construed to limit or expand any law
              pertaining to intellectual property.
                `(3) STATE LAW- Nothing in this section shall be construed to
              prevent any State from enforcing any State law that is
              consistent with this section. No cause of action may be brought
              and no liability may be imposed under any State or local law
              that is inconsistent with this section.
                `(4) NO EFFECT ON COMMUNICATIONS PRIVACY LAW- Nothing in this
              section shall be construed to limit the application of the
              Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 or any of the
              amendments made by such Act, or any similar State law.
            `(e) DEFINITIONS- As used in this section:
                `(1) INTERNET- The term `Internet' means the international
              computer network of both Federal and non-Federal interoperable
              packet switched data networks.
                `(2) INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE- The term `interactive
              computer service' means any information service, system, or
              access software provider that provides or enables computer
              access by multiple users to a computer server, including
              specifically a service or system that provides access to the
              Internet and such systems operated or services offered by
              libraries or educational institutions.
                `(3) INFORMATION CONTENT PROVIDER- The term `information
              content provider' means any person or entity that is
              responsible, in whole or in part, for the creation or
              development of information provided through the Internet or any
              other interactive computer service.
                `(4) ACCESS SOFTWARE PROVIDER- The term `access software
              provider' means a provider of software (including client or
              server software), or enabling tools that do any one or more of
              the following:
                    `(A) filter, screen, allow, or disallow content;
                    `(B) pick, choose, analyze, or digest content; or
                    `(C) transmit, receive, display, forward, cache, search,
                  subset, organize, reorganize, or translate content.'.
                                  SUBTITLE B--VIOLENCE
          SEC. 551. PARENTAL CHOICE IN TELEVISION PROGRAMMING.
            (a) FINDINGS- The Congress makes the following findings:
                (1) Television influences children's perception of the values
              and behavior that are common and acceptable in society.
                (2) Television station operators, cable television system
              operators, and video programmers should follow practices in
              connection with video programming that take into consideration
              that television broadcast and cable programming has established
              a uniquely pervasive presence in the lives of American children.
                (3) The average American child is exposed to 25 hours of
              television each week and some children are exposed to as much
              as 11 hours of television a day.
                (4) Studies have shown that children exposed to violent video
              programming at a young age have a higher tendency for violent
              and aggressive behavior later in life than children not so
              exposed, and that children exposed to violent video programming
              are prone to assume that acts of violence are acceptable
              behavior.
                (5) Children in the United States are, on average, exposed to
              an estimated 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence on
              television by the time the child completes elementary school.
                (6) Studies indicate that children are affected by the
              pervasiveness and casual treatment of sexual material on
              television, eroding the ability of parents to develop
              responsible attitudes and behavior in their children.
                (7) Parents express grave concern over violent and sexual
              video programming and strongly support technology that would
              give them greater control to block video programming in the
              home that they consider harmful to their children.
                (8) There is a compelling governmental interest in empowering
              parents to limit the negative influences of video programming
              that is harmful to children.
                (9) Providing parents with timely information about the
              nature of upcoming video programming and with the technological
              tools that allow them easily to block violent, sexual, or other
              programming that they believe harmful to their children is a
              nonintrusive and narrowly tailored means of achieving that
              compelling governmental interest.
            (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF TELEVISION RATING CODE-
                (1) AMENDMENT- Section 303 (47 U.S.C. 303) is amended by
              adding at the end the following:
            `(w) Prescribe--
                `(1) on the basis of recommendations from an advisory
              committee established by the Commission in accordance with
              section 551(b)(2) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996,
              guidelines and recommended procedures for the identification
              and rating of video programming that contains sexual, violent,
              or other indecent material about which parents should be
              informed before it is displayed to children:  [Italic->]
              Provided,  [<-Italic] That nothing in this paragraph shall be
              construed to authorize any rating of video programming on the
              basis of its political or religious content; and
                `(2) with respect to any video programming that has been
              rated, and in consultation with the television industry, rules
              requiring distributors of such video programming to transmit
              such rating to permit parents to block the display of video
              programming that they have determined is inappropriate for
              their children.'.
                (2) ADVISORY COMMITTEE REQUIREMENTS- In establishing an
              advisory committee for purposes of the amendment made by
              paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Commission shall--
                    (A) ensure that such committee is composed of parents,
                  television broadcasters, television programming producers,
                  cable operators, appropriate public interest groups, and
                  other interested individuals from the private sector and is
                  fairly balanced in terms of political affiliation, the
                  points of view represented, and the functions to be
                  performed by the committee;
                    (B) provide to the committee such staff and resources as
                  may be necessary to permit it to perform its functions
                  efficiently and promptly; and
                    (C) require the committee to submit a final report of its
                  recommendations within one year after the date of the
                  appointment of the initial members.
            (c) REQUIREMENT FOR MANUFACTURE OF TELEVISIONS THAT BLOCK
          PROGRAMS- Section 303 (47 U.S.C. 303), as amended by subsection
          (a), is further amended by adding at the end the following:
            `(x) Require, in the case of an apparatus designed to receive
          television signals that are shipped in interstate commerce or
          manufactured in the United States and that have a picture screen 13
          inches or greater in size (measured diagonally), that such
          apparatus be equipped with a feature designed to enable viewers to
          block display of all programs with a common rating, except as
          otherwise permitted by regulations pursuant to section 330(c)(4).'.
            (d) SHIPPING OF TELEVISIONS THAT BLOCK PROGRAMS-
                (1) REGULATIONS- Section 330 (47 U.S.C. 330) is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
                    (B) by adding after subsection (b) the following new
                  subsection (c):
            `(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), no person shall ship
          in interstate commerce or manufacture in the United States any
          apparatus described in section 303(x) of this Act except in
          accordance with rules prescribed by the Commission pursuant to the
          authority granted by that section.
            `(2) This subsection shall not apply to carriers transporting
          apparatus referred to in paragraph (1) without trading in it.
            `(3) The rules prescribed by the Commission under this subsection
          shall provide for the oversight by the Commission of the adoption
          of standards by industry for blocking technology. Such rules shall
          require that all such apparatus be able to receive the rating
          signals which have been transmitted by way of line 21 of the
          vertical blanking interval and which conform to the signal and
          blocking specifications established by industry under the
          supervision of the Commission.
            `(4) As new video technology is developed, the Commission shall
          take such action as the Commission determines appropriate to ensure
          that blocking service continues to be available to consumers. If
          the Commission determines that an alternative blocking technology
          exists that--
                `(A) enables parents to block programming based on
              identifying programs without ratings,
                `(B) is available to consumers at a cost which is comparable
              to the cost of technology that allows parents to block
              programming based on common ratings, and
                `(C) will allow parents to block a broad range of programs on
              a multichannel system as effectively and as easily as
              technology that allows parents to block programming based on
              common ratings,
          the Commission shall amend the rules prescribed pursuant to section
          303(x) to require that the apparatus described in such section be
          equipped with either the blocking technology described in such
          section or the alternative blocking technology described in this
          paragraph.'.
                (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- Section 330(d), as redesignated by
              subsection (d)(1)(A), is amended by striking `section 303(s),
              and section 303(u)' and inserting in lieu thereof `and sections
              303(s), 303(u), and 303(x)'.
            (e) APPLICABILITY AND EFFECTIVE DATES-
                (1) APPLICABILITY OF RATING PROVISION- The amendment made by
              subsection (b) of this section shall take effect 1 year after
              the date of enactment of this Act, but only if the Commission
              determines, in consultation with appropriate public interest
              groups and interested individuals from the private sector, that
              distributors of video programming have not, by such date--
                    (A) established voluntary rules for rating video
                  programming that contains sexual, violent, or other
                  indecent material about which parents should be informed
                  before it is displayed to children, and such rules are
                  acceptable to the Commission; and
                    (B) agreed voluntarily to broadcast signals that contain
                  ratings of such programming.
                (2) EFFECTIVE DATE OF MANUFACTURING PROVISION- In prescribing
              regulations to implement the amendment made by subsection (c),
              the Federal Communications Commission shall, after consultation
              with the television manufacturing industry, specify the
              effective date for the applicability of the requirement to the
              apparatus covered by such amendment, which date shall not be
              less than two years after the date of enactment of this Act.
          SEC. 552. TECHNOLOGY FUND.
            It is the policy of the United States to encourage broadcast
          television, cable, satellite, syndication, other video programming
          distributors, and relevant related industries (in consultation with
          appropriate public interest groups and interested individuals from
          the private sector) to--
                (1) establish a technology fund to encourage television and
              electronics equipment manufacturers to facilitate the
              development of technology which would empower parents to block
              programming they deem inappropriate for their children and to
              encourage the availability thereof to low income parents;
                (2) report to the viewing public on the status of the
              development of affordable, easy to use blocking technology; and
                (3) establish and promote effective procedures, standards,
              systems, advisories, or other mechanisms for ensuring that
              users have easy and complete access to the information
              necessary to effectively utilize blocking technology and to
              encourage the availability thereof to low income parents.
                               SUBTITLE C--JUDICIAL REVIEW
          SEC. 561. EXPEDITED REVIEW.
            (a) THREE-JUDGE DISTRICT COURT HEARING- Notwithstanding any other
          provision of law, any civil action challenging the
          constitutionality, on its face, of this title or any amendment made
          by this title, or any provision thereof, shall be heard by a
          district court of 3 judges convened pursuant to the provisions of
          section 2284 of title 28, United States Code.
            (b) APPELLATE REVIEW- Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
          an interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order of the court
          of 3 judges in an action under subsection (a) holding this title or
          an amendment made by this title, or any provision thereof,
          unconstitutional shall be reviewable as a matter of right by direct
          appeal to the Supreme Court. Any such appeal shall be filed not
          more than 20 days after entry of such judgment, decree, or order.