Senator Wages War On Online Porn

Sen. Blanche Lincoln Calls For Tough Age Verification, 'Smut Tax'

(CBS) 

The age verification system to be used by the websites is not specified in the bill, but it must be certified by FTC. One popular system used by companies in the liquor and tobacco industry is VerifyME, a software program requiring users to enter personal information and a government-issued identification number, from a passport or driver’s license, which is then checked against public records for confirmation.

The report concedes that the system is not perfect but supporters of tougher age verification for Internet porn claim it is far better than the status quo—a simple age check-off box. “The best online age-verification systems replicate the act of ‘carding,’ which is the standard means of verifying age everywhere else but on the Internet," the report stated.

In the meantime, the tax levied on Internet porn transactions would go into a trust fund, part of which would be spent on developing better verification technologies.

The trust fund would also be used to address the problem of children becoming prey to shady elements of the sex industry. The Third Way study found 140,000 images of child pornography on the Internet over a six week period and estimates the child pornography industry may bring in as much as $1 billion annually. Revenues from Lincoln’s “smut tax” would also be spent on law enforcement efforts against the sexual exploitation of children.

Will the porn industry fight Lincoln’s bill? Tom Hymes, spokesman for Free Speech Coalition, an advocacy group representing 900 companies in the porn industry told CBS News, “It is sad, but typical, that no one contacted the adult industry to discuss the perceived problems, but instead proposed a Draconian 25 percent tax on Web sites. We want to help keep minors from inappropriate material. We hope that the Senator will sit down and work with the industry, rather than legislate based upon false premises.”