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.