The US House of Representatives on Friday approved a bill that
will create a child-friendly internet zone, supposedly free of
violence, pornography and other adult material. The bill, which has
already passed the Senate but had to go back to the House due to
slight language changes, is expected to win presidential
approval.18 Nov 2002
The Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002 will create the .kids.us sub-domain, where only material suitable for children 12 years old and younger will be allowed. The new law requires web sites bearing .kids.us addresses to certify they do not contain sexually explicit material, hate speech, violence or other material unsuitable for minors.
Under the law, the .kids.us web sites will also be subject to "constant content monitoring and swift takedown of inappropriate content." The new sub-domain will be controlled by NeuStar, the company that has been managing the .us country code domain since autumn 2001.
This is the fourth attempt by the US Congress to pass a law to protect children using the internet. In the past, three similar laws were passed, but the US Supreme Court overturned them as unconstitutional, reasoning that they violated the First Amendment right of free speech.
The Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act 2002 can be found at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_bills&docid=f:h3833eh.txt.pdf