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Washington, D.C., Nov 20, 2007 - Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04) announced today he has voted for three bills which will help protect children in the Fourth District and across the United States from cyber crime targeted at children. Additionally, Congressman Forbes cosponsored a new bill which will impose harsher penalties for adults who misrepresent their age in conversations with children online, with the intent of sexual solicitation.

“As the Internet has become a fixture in many homes with children across the United States, the prevalence of cyber crime – particularly targeted at children – has become more widespread. As a parent, I know this is of great concern for other parents and I am proud to support this series of the bills that, if enacted, would help increase the protections children have online as well as make the punishments for soliciting children online harsher,” Forbes said. “With one in five children estimated to be approached online by a sexual predator, these pieces of legislation are critically important for the safety of our families across the United States.”

Congressman Forbes voted for the following piece of legislation:

• The Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act of 2007 ( H.R. 719), which would require that sex offenders report their e-mail address, instant message address, or other similar Internet identifier the sex offender used or will use to communicate over the Internet. This law is in addition to existing sex offender registry requirements and would require the Attorney General to maintain a system allowing a commercial social networking website to compare the database of registered users of that website to the sex offender registry list.
• The Enhancing the Effective Prosecution of Child Pornography Act of 2007 (H.R. 4136), which would add child pornography when it involved minors and the production of pornography for importation into the United States to the list of unlawful activities under money laundering statutes. Under current money laundering statutes, violators are those that knowingly conduct or attempt to conduct a financial transaction which involves the proceeds of “specified unlawful activities.”
• The Safeguarding America’s Families by Enhancing and Reorganizing New and Efficient Technologies (H.R. 3461), which would require Federal Trade Commission to carry out a nationwide public awareness and education campaign regarding Internet safety.

Congressman Forbes cosponsored the following pieces of legislation:

• The Capturing On-line Predators Who Misrepresent Their Age Act (H.R. 4005), which would establish criminal penalties for adults (over the age of 18) who knowingly misrepresent their age in an online communication to a minor with the purpose of persuading, inducing, enticing or coercing them to engage in sexual activity.

Congressman Forbes is a Member of the House Judiciary Committee and Ranking Member on the Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Committee. For more on what Congressman Forbes is doing to help combat cyber crime, visit: http://forbes.house.gov/issues/technology.htm.

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