The Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online Act of 2007
H.R. 3791 is a U.S. House bill stating that anyone offering an
open Wi-Fi Internet connection to the public, who "obtains actual knowledge of any facts or circumstances" in relation to illegal visual media such as "
child pornography
Child pornography (also abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is Eroticism, erotic ma ...
" transferred over that connection, must register a report of their knowledge to the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1984 by the United States Congress. In September 2013, the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, and the Pre ...
.
The act references US Code sections 2251, 2251A, 2252, 2252A, 2252B, 2260, and 1466A in defining its scope. Anyone failing to report their knowledge faces fines of up to $300,000. It was written by
Nick Lampson
Nicholas Valentino Lampson (born February 14, 1945) is an American politician who is a former Democratic Congressman representing the 22nd Congressional District and the 9th Congressional District of Texas.
Early life, education, and early p ...
(D-TX)
and introduced in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
on October 10, 2007. It was approved (409-2-20) on December 5, 2007, with only Republicans
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...
and
Paul Broun
Paul Collins Broun Jr. (born May 14, 1946) is an American physician and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party and was a member of the Tea Party Caucus.
Broun unsuccess ...
voting against. Some commentators criticized it as overly broad,
but Lampson's spokesman dismissed these interpretations, saying that the act was not intended to cover Americans who had
wireless router
A wireless router or Wi-Fi router is a device that performs the functions of a router and also includes the functions of a wireless access point. It is used to provide access to the Internet or a private computer network. Depending on the m ...
s at home, but only to target their
internet service provider
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...
s.
References
Human trafficking in the United States
United States House of Representatives
Proposed legislation of the 110th United States Congress
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