ST. GEORGE -- A proposal to tax Internet porn peddlers will helpprotect children from being exposed to online smut, Rep. JimMatheson, D-Utah, said Friday at the Children's Justice Center in St.George.
"This information came across my desk, and it's very disturbing,"Matheson said during a short news conference held to discuss federallegislation he recently introduced in the House. "Pornography isspecifically being targeted to children. The largest consumer of pornon the Internet is children ages 12 to 17, and the average age offirst being exposed to porn is 11 years old. That's very disturbing."
Matheson described his bill, HR3479: The Internet Safety and ChildProtection Act, as "very simple legislation." Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., introduced the bill in the Senate.
"The bill requires and mandates the use of age verificationsoftware, similar to the type already used with Internet tobaccosales," said Matheson. "It provides for a more rigorous effort toprove someone is of the appropriate age to access these porn sites."
The bill would also impose a 25 percent tax on the display ofInternet pornography or transactions. Taxes collected would go into atrust fund for the Department of Justice Cyber Tip Line, the InternetCrimes Against Children Task Force and research grants.
"That money would be used to enforce the law, form task forces andconduct research programs to discourage access of this material tochildren."
Local law enforcement leaders, who said they support thecongressman's efforts to stop the victimization of young people,joined Matheson.
"I believe in my heart that methamphetamine is an epidemic in oursociety and pornography is a cancer. Cancer kills," said WashingtonCounty Sheriff Kirk Smith, who added that during his 21-year careeras a Utah Highway Patrol trooper he learned that porn and drugs gotogether.
"Without exception, if I found porn in a car, I found drugs," hesaid. "I know it's dangerous to make generalizations like that, butit's true."
St. George Acting Police Chief Russ Peck said Matheson's billwould provide law enforcement with an important tool.
"We almost invariably see porn when we do these drug busts," hesaid. "This is a great bill and we support what he (Matheson) isdoing."
Patricia Sheffield works with underage victims as director of theChildren's Justice Center and said pornography is creating youngvictims all the time.
"We're seeing more juvenile perpetrators," she said. "We are beingencouraged now to ask victims what kind of porn they've been exposedto and whether it was through the Internet. This bill can addresssome of the problem, but if parents aren't the first line of defense,then how can we stop this easy access into every home?"
Parents in southern Utah are "relatively naive" when it comes tothe Internet and what their kids are seeing online, she added.
The porn industry is "big business," said Matheson, pulling inabout $12 billion a year in sales.
"The porn industry has infiltrated our homes and it compromiseswhat can be an excellent learning tool for our children," he said."It is inexcusable for Congress not to act. We must stop the industryfrom exploiting the Internet to expose our children to objectionablematerial. Families should not have to do battle against this industryby themselves. They need a weapon that hurts and this bill is thatweapon."
Pornography depersonalizes and dehumanizes people, said Sheffield.
"And the victims of this are male and female," said the sheriff."These are our children. They're being actively pursued. This is awar and we've got to deal with it."
E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com
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