For Immediate Release
July 24, 2003

Rep. Pitts introduces bill to protect children from peer-to-peer porn

Washington—Congressman Joe Pitts (R, PA-16) today introduced the Protecting Children from Peer-to-Peer Pornography (P4) Act.  The P4 Act gives parents the tools they need to protect their children from pornography and threats to privacy posed by peer-to-peer file trading networks.

“Millions of people are using peer-to-peer software at any given time.  About forty percent of them are children,” said Rep. Pitts.  “Unfortunately, pedophiles and pornographers use these networks to distribute pornography.  If a child using this software wants to download a file, he or she can type in an innocent key word and inadvertently download pornography.”

In March 2003, the General Accounting Office (GAO) and the House Committee on Government Reform found that: pornography is readily available and accessible on P2P networks; children are easily exposed to pornography while using P2P programs; and the filters available to parents do sufficiently address the threat to their children’s’ safety.

“Our legislation gives parents the tools they need to protect their children from pornography and threats to privacy posed by peer-to-peer file trading networks.  By working together to protect children, we are building a broad and bipartisan coalition,” concluded Rep. Pitts.

The P4 Act regulates P2P software, and requires the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) to adopt regulations that require P2P distributors to:

• Give notice of the threats posed by P2P software;

• Distribute P2P software to a minor only with a parent’s consent, and not when parents have used a “do not install” beacon to indicate their desire to avoid P2P software;

• Comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) when collecting information from children under age 13;

• Ensure that the software can be readily uninstalled; and

• Ensure that the user’s computer not be commandeered as a “super node,” and not disable or circumvent security or protective software, without consent.

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