Legislators Call for Federal Law to Keep ISP and Wi-Fi Log Records

February 27, 2009

By Mike Peters

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-TX, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-TX, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, have introduced The Internet Safety Act in both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The legislation is intended to strengthen penalties for Internet predators and enhance safety measures to protect children.

The Internet Safety Act Takes Aim at Internet Predators

Sen. Cornyn said, "I'm proud to join my colleague Lamar Smith from the House of Representatives in announcing our legislation, the Internet Safety Act, to combat Internet predators and create a safer environment for children. It is our hope that we can garner the support of all our colleagues and pass this bill to strengthen penalties for child sex offenders and Internet predators. While the Internet has generated many positive changes in the way we communicate and do business, its limitless nature offers anonymity that has opened the door to criminals looking to harm innocent children. Keeping our children safe requires cooperation on the local, state, federal, and family level."

Legislation Would Require ISPs and Wi-Fi Hotspots to Retain Subscriber Records

U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith added: "Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials have reached a digital dead end in their battle against the online exploitation of children. Investigators need the assistance of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to identify users and distributors of online child pornography. The Internet Safety Act requires ISPs to retain subscriber records, similar to records retained by telephone companies, to aid law enforcement officials."

Key Points of the Internet Safety Act

If passed into law, the Internet Safety Act would: strengthen existing federal penalties against child pornography and the sexual exploitation of children; create new federal crimes for those who facilitate child pornography over the internet - those who set up the servers hosting child pornography could face up to ten years in prison, and those who help fund these activities could face up to twenty years in prison; target those who deliberately endanger our children - not those ISPs who work with law enforcement to protect them; increase funding for the FBI's Innocent Images National Initiative by $30 million which would nearly double funding for the FBI agents who investigate online child pornography and child sexual exploitation.

Opposition to the Internet Safety Act

Those who oppose the bill feel it is too broad. It would require all ISPs and businesses that offer Wi-Fi access - such as coffee shops, book stores, and hotels - to keep two-year record logs for each user. There is also concern that private home Wi-Fi users would also be impacted.