By Tyna-Minet Ernst
Utah Rep. Jim Matheson joined a group of Democrats to propose legislation that would require age verification on Internet pornography sites and a 25 percent tax on sales from those sites.
The bill came after Third Way, a Democrat-sponsored think tank, released a study Wednesday on children and pornography that said children ages 12 to 17 are the largest consumers of Internet porn.
Alyson Heyrend, communications director for Matheson, said the bill is designed to require that pornography Web sites use the latest software to verify age.
?They assume that if you are making your purchase with a credit card, then you are 18 years old,? she said. ?There?s technology available now that allows them to verify through public databases that the credit card is an adult?s credit card.?
The Democrat?s bill would also charge a 25 percent tax on any purchases made on adult Web sites. Heyrend said the money would go into a trust fund that would be used to track down pedophiles, to fund the development of better porn-blocking technologies and to finance education efforts.
?Who better to pay the costs of protecting our children from Internet pornography than the industry that has made billions of dollars offering it?? Matheson said in a news release.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., sponsored the bill and introduced it in the Senate while Matheson introduced it in the House. Matheson said he supported the legislation because families need help trying to keep their children away from pornography.
?The porn industry has infiltrated our homes, and it compromises what can be an excellent learning tool for our children,? Matheson said. ?It is inexcusable for Congress not to act.?
Tom Hymes, a spokesperson for the Free Speech Coalition, a lobbying group backed by the pornography industry, said there is no way this bill could become law because a tax could not be issued on one specific type of speech.
?They want to take money from all of the pay sites that do verify age,? Hymes said. ?The report makes it seem like this is all the making of the adult Internet industry and really it isn?t.?
Hymes said although the industry may have targeted children five or six years ago, in recent years they have changed their business models.
According to the Third Way report, the average age children are exposed to pornography on the Internet is 11 years old.
Past efforts to try to block Internet porn from children have been found to be unconstitutional. But Heyrend said this bill would not try to restrict the approach; it would require the companies to verify that their users are adults.