Toughen enforcement for Internet exploitation of children

More money for enforcement

Updated: Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 | By Lukas Pleva

During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised he would protect children from exploitation and inappropriate content on TV and the Internet. He said he would give parents "the tools and information they need to control what their children see on television and the Internet in ways fully consistent with the First Amendment." He also vowed to toughen enforcement for Internet exploitation of children by supporting tough penalties, increasing resources for law enforcement, and promoting collaboration between law enforcement and the private sector to identify and prosecute people who abuse the Internet to try to exploit children.

President Obama fulfilled the enforcement part of his campaign pledge on Dec. 16, 2009, when he signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010 into law. The legislation provides funding for several government departments during the year 2010, including the Department of Justice. More specifically, it allocates $353.5 million for Adam Walsh Act activities, which include sex offender registration requirements and other sex offender and child exploitation prevention and enforcement programs. The amount represents an increase of $63.6 million above the 2009 level.

The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 was signed into law on July 27, 2006 by the former President George Bush. Named in memory of Adam Walsh, who was kidnapped from a Florida shopping mall and subsequently found murdered in 1981, the Act is primarily concerned with reforming the sex offender database system, increasing penalties for failing to register and upgrading publicly-accessible online directories, though it also contains several provisions that enhance the tools that law enforcement officials have available to combat Internet exploitation.

Obama has made progress on funding the enforcement programs, but we still need to see what the administration will do to give parents "the tools" for controlling what kids can see on the Internet and TV. So for now, we rate this one In the Works.

Sources:

Committees on Appropriation, Summary FY2010: Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations , Accessed Jan. 4, 2010.

America's Most Wanted, About John Walsh , Accessed Jan. 4, 2010.

National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse, Practitioner's Guide to the Adam Walsh Act , Accessed Jan. 4, 2010.