Cramer Applauds Legislation to Protect Kids Online

Press Release

U.S. Representative Bud Cramer (Ala.-05), co-founder of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, announced that the House approved vital legislation this week to protect children from online sexual predators.

Representative Cramer is recognized as one of Congress' leaders on children's issues. He has supported numerous pieces of legislation that are aimed at making the nation safer for families. He said, "A major concern from child advocates is the ease that sexual predators can use the internet to lure children. Unfortunately, an adult pretending to be a child can reach out to an unsuspecting child anywhere in the country. These bills will help give parents additional confidence that the internet can be safe for their kids by providing law enforcement with new tools to fight against online sexual predators."

Included among the House-passed legislation was the Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators (KIDS) Act. Cramer was a cosponsor of this legislation that would require sexual predators to register any email address, instant message address, or other internet profiles that a convicted sex offender uses to communicate over the internet. This bill would also require the Justice Department to create and maintain a searchable database that will help social networking websites identify registered sex offenders.

The House also approved the Providing Resources, Officers and Technology to Eradicate Cyber Threats to (PROTECT) Our Children Act. This bill would authorize increased funding for the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force program. It would also add additional FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to specifically investigate crimes against children, and would create new crime labs to help shorten backlogs.

The ICAC program combines law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and computer specialists to develop a uniform response for cyber predators and child pornography cases, and to enforce efforts against internet crime. In April, Representative Cramer met with law enforcement and child advocates in North Alabama to discuss internet safety and the region's involvement with the ICAC program. Cramer said, "I'm proud we have passed this legislation to strengthen the ICAC programs across the country."

Additionally, the House approved the Safeguarding America's Families by Enhancing & Reorganizing New & Efficient Technologies Act. This bill would authorize funding to create an internet safety campaign through the Federal Trade Commission that would raise awareness of threats to financial information and privacy, threats from cyber-crime, and threats to juveniles. It would also encourage the technology industry to promote online safety for children.

Finally, the House approved the Effective Child Pornography Prosecution Act and the Clarification of the Scope of Child Pornography Law. These bills strengthen federal law application in child pornography cases. They enable law enforcement officials to bring additional federal felony charges against those who produce child pornography and transmit those images over the internet.

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