Comments on: Gonzales calls for mandatory Web labeling law

Attorney general says sexually explicit sites must be labeled or their operators risk jail time.

[upallnites]

The ability to label websites

This is clearly just another attempt by the Bush Administration to raise his ratings with the Church and Christian Groups by attacking Porn once again!
The ability to label websites has existed for years. Most responsible webmasters already do it.
( http://www.asacp.org/ ). ASACP, the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection, is a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating child pornography from the Internet.

The adult industry is not responsible for child pornography. That is created by sick individuals and used by pedophiles. These are things you will not find in an Adult Web Site!
And yes, there are predators on the Internet prowling for children. But not in an Adult Web Site.
In fact pedophiles and predators have "NO use" for an adult web site.
Attempts by both Government and Christian Groups to rile up the American public and the World using mis-information and false statements only hinders Organizations such as ASACP! Adult companies, it's webmasters and adult entertainment members have lead the fight against child pornography.
Attempts to mis-inform the public saying online adult entertainment profits from underage children and is responsible for child pornography. Are both reckless and dishonest.

An adult web site can not make a profit form an underage child unless they have stolen their parents credit card and entered false information when they signed up.
You should be asking yourself, "Where were their parents during all this?". Not focusing your blame on the web site.
Too many Parents see the internet as some form of Babysitting service. Allowing their children to surf freely with no form of internet filtering software and no parental supervision. When they finally do discover that their little darlings have found some online porn. Or are involved in some obscene activity in some non-adult chatroom. They are outraged and condemn all PORN. When it is really their own lack of supervision to blame.

The Adult industry and the Internet are NOT a Babysitting service.
Parents need to be responsible for their children's actions before they attempt to get their political leaders involved in helping protect their own children!
There are filtering technologies available and tools at their disposal. The Parent needs to ensure their proper use! A responsible parent is the first preventive measure!

But facing imprisonment for up to five years for not being Babysitting service for irresponsible Parents is just crazy!!

[ralfthedog]

search engines don't use meta tags anymore.

The only tags that a search engine will use anymore are the title and description tags. They don't use them for indexing, they use them for the description of the web site.

Metta tags have been abused to the point of uselessness by web page designers.

PS. The alt tag still has some weight.

[ralfthedog]

posted in the wrong place.

Why can't we delete our own posts or edit them?

[Munkaymon]

The horror of it all - "close-ups of fully clothed genital regions"!

What if a child were to actually see close-up image of "fully clothed genital regions", the horror of it all! The poor child would no doubt suffer ireversable trauma and be of no use to the future of totalitarian society.

The Red States would certainally have nothing to do with such a person, especially the pro-life brigades. New institutions would have to be devised to harbor such misfits. Ways would have to be found to flush their memories of such horrorific visions.

[Maccess]

There go the beach photos....

I can just imagine what photos are going to look like:

Beach pictures showing just heads. Hey, are you sure you went to the beach? It looks just like a shot at the mall.

Graduation photos with black bars across the middle.

Black boxes popping up during action movies. Damn missed that Jet Li flying kick because of that black box that popped up!

Photos of World leaders delivering speeches with black boxes below the waist, when most would rather the boxes covered their mouths.

[R Me]

lol

banned in schools by executive order!
JC Penny Spring & Summer Catalog

When I think of all the people turning to JC Penny porn for thrills is scares me almost as much as when I contemplate the long term effects of little girls examining their barbie dolls.

[BarebackJack]

Would it be enough?

Think of it... if Victoria's Secret catalogs and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues would have to be sold in discreet wrappers alongside Hustler and Playboy, would it not also follow to put up warning signs at public pools and beaches, and make them off limits to children as well? If photos are disturbing, the real thing with all the potential for "wardrobe malfunctions" could permanently scar the tender minds of young-uns. Beaches and pools where adults congregate in such scanty, revealing clothing would have to be made child-free.

Now that I think of it... that wouldn't be so bad after all. :-)

[mlibrescu]

It Won't Work

This will work about as well as the CANSPAM act worked. I mean, after the government got their powerful minds together and passed CANSPAM, spam disappeared almost overnight, right?

[mlibrescu]

It Won't Work

This will work about as well as the CANSPAM act worked. I mean, after the government got their powerful minds together and passed CANSPAM, spam disappeared almost overnight, right?

[markperk123]

About time! Porn hurts families...

This stuff is just far too accessible and free... 20 years ago, this kind of content was something that was easily recognized as potentially very damaging to relationships and hidden behind closed doors. For obvious reasons- The content was just too strong to be readily accessible. I know- for me, it's damaged the simple innocence I once had in how I view sex with my own wife, and makes wandering eyes too tempting for me. After all- with all the online hardcore sex pics and videos quick and easy to find in just 2 or 3 minutes, you can feel that any pretty woman in the world more quickly positioned in a more hardcore fantasy in your mind than ever before. It can take any good average joe and spin him into a world that his wife and family would cry over if they could look into his thoughts. Sure, all guys may have had their fantasies on a regular basis throughout history, but this catapults them into too much, too fast. It can easily plague too many minutes of a day looking forward to internet porn with thousands of hot women instead of looking forward to a natural, happy and healthy sexual relationship with your significant other. I think it can severely deplete the sexual desires that should have been there in the relationship. It leads to too many instances of hiding what you're doing, and that's never healthy. I just think people would be happier if this situation never would have been allowed in the first place. It's like drinking- sure, the government has allowed it, but it rarely leads to a healthy lifestyle.

[BarebackJack]

You're not responsible?

Dude... why is it someone else's fault if you don't have the self-restraint needed to keep your eyes off the porn sites? Your weakness is not the fault of the adult-site webmasters... but it is their bread and butter. Should the government force all grocery stores and liquor stores take booze off the shelf to protect alcoholics from themselves? Should the feds make stores take candy off the shelves to protect junk-food junkies from themselves? Of course not.

You let yourself get out of hand, perhaps. Innocence lost? Oh well. We all have to grow up some day. But blaming others for your inability to control yourself is just plain wrong. It's a cop-out. Be a man and take responsibility for your own actions. Stop trying to blame nameless others for your own weakness.

On a more positive side, you leanred something about yourself that you either didn't know before or weren't willing to acknowledge. It may not be the nicest thing to face your own demon, but you now have to face it and deal with it... and that CAN make you into a stronger person. And you can learn to make the adjustments to your life that help you break the habit that brought you to this point.

Sometimes life's greatest gifts and lessons hurt the most. If not for internet porn, you might never have been given this opportunity.

[Stan Kee]

I'm Suprised

He didn't blame the devil but I guess he isn't religious.

[markperk123]

About time! Porn hurts families...

This stuff is just far too accessible and free... 20 years ago, this kind of content was something that was easily recognized as potentially very damaging to relationships and hidden behind closed doors. For obvious reasons- The content was just too strong to be readily accessible. I know- for me, it's damaged the simple innocence I once had in how I view sex with my own wife, and makes wandering eyes too tempting for me. After all- with all the online hardcore sex pics and videos quick and easy to find in just 2 or 3 minutes, you can feel that any pretty woman in the world more quickly positioned in a more hardcore fantasy in your mind than ever before. It can take any good average joe and spin him into a world that his wife and family would cry over if they could look into his thoughts. Sure, all guys may have had their fantasies on a regular basis throughout history, but this catapults them into too much, too fast. It can easily plague too many minutes of a day looking forward to internet porn with thousands of hot women instead of looking forward to a natural, happy and healthy sexual relationship with your significant other. I think it can severely deplete the sexual desires that should have been there in the relationship. It leads to too many instances of hiding what you're doing, and that's never healthy. I just think people would be happier if this situation never would have been allowed in the first place. It's like drinking- sure, the government has allowed it, but it rarely leads to a healthy lifestyle.

[PzkwVIb]

That means porn hurts you, not everyone

You need psychiatric help. Porn poses no danger to a well adjusted individual.

[MisterFlibble]

Wow... A right wing plant if i ever heard one...

First, I don't know you, so I cannot believe or disbelieve your particular case, so talking about it is moot, or even whether it is the truth, but just like anything, humans can always have too much of anything. There is this little product I think you've heard of it, called... alcohol. I've heard this has been the source of many families falling apart. Yet it is sold unabashed for decades. Oh, they tried to outlaw it, even putting an amendment in the constitution prohibiting it for a while, but all that did was bring the product underground, completed unregulated, becuase it was ALL illegal, and king pin mob bosses ruled the towns of this nation with their alcohol markets until finally the constitution was amended again to allow for the sale of alcohol once again. But why should I argue the constitution, you obviously think people like Bush, Gonsalez and you are above the constitution, that you can circumvent it. Hence, I have to wonder if you hate our constitution so much, why are you living in America?

Also, I've heard of some product... called tobacco, you might have heard of it, too, it has killed more people that almost any other product to ever exist, and by doing so, devastated families. I'm sure Peter Jennings family was pretty devastated by this product.

Also, you only have picked up on one aspect of this bill as well as H.R. 4472, which you've already exposed the true intentions of the bill, proven Gonsalez is speaking out of his heiny, this has nothing to do with children, but is all about the conservative prudes out there intending to force their will on everyone else. Thank you for atleast exposing the truth, that your true intention is to censor, like it always is, but atleast be honest, when you're going to pull moves like this, obviously Torture Czar can't be as honest as you, when it comes down to this issue of intentions.

But this bill goes way beyond the reach of the porn industry, or even porn at all, this newest proposal by Torture Czar work require anyone in a bathing suit or anywhere where a shot of clothed genitals may be seen, like ice skaters, anyone wearing less that what meets Torture Czar's approval... this effects clothing shops, not just lingerie, but even Wal-Mart.

Oh, and the last couple of lines, with all due respect, but passing legislation IS NOT about what YOU think people would be happier in life, legislation is not about "being happy in life" at all.

So glad we have people like YOU supporting our freedoms (sarcasm)... now why exactily do we fight wars again?

[ericblr0716]

you're responsibility

It is still your responsibility to stay away from that content. If
internet porn is a problem, then cut off your internet line. If we let
the government step in everything we do, then it WILL get out of
control. The government has, in fact, already way overstepped its
bounds already.

[ericblr0716]

you're responsibility

It is still your responsibility to stay away from that content. If
internet porn is a problem, then cut off your internet line. If we let
the government step in everything we do, then it WILL get out of
control. The government has, in fact, already way overstepped its
bounds already.

[ericblr0716]

Your responsibility

It is still your responsibility to stay away from that content. If
internet porn is a problem, then cut off your internet line. If we let
the government step in everything we do, then it WILL get out of
control. The government has, in fact, already way overstepped its
bounds already.

[ericblr0716]

Your responsibility

It is still your responsibility to stay away from that content. If
internet porn is a problem, then cut off your internet line. If we let
the government step in everything we do, then it WILL get out of
control. The government has, in fact, already way overstepped its
bounds already.

[ericblr0716]

Your responsibility

It is still your responsibility to stay away from that content. If
internet porn is a problem, then cut off your internet line. If we let
the government step in everything we do, then it WILL get out of
control. The government has, in fact, already way overstepped its
bounds already.

[ericblr0716]

Your responsibility

It is still your responsibility to stay away from that content. If
internet porn is a problem, then cut off your internet line. If we let
the government step in everything we do, then it WILL get out of
control. The government has, in fact, already way overstepped its
bounds already.

[ericblr0716]

Your responsibility

It is still your responsibility to stay away from that content. If
internet porn is a problem, then cut off your internet line. If we let
the government step in everything we do, then it WILL get out of
control. The government has, in fact, already way overstepped its
bounds already.

[ericblr0716]

Your responsibility

It is still your responsibility to stay away from that content. If
internet porn is a problem, then cut off your internet line. If we let
the government step in everything we do, then it WILL get out of
control. The government has, in fact, already way overstepped its
bounds already.

[heystoopid]

The Man Who Would Be King!

The man who would be king, by using the old divide and rule tactic, to hide his real motives and the truth at all times!

I see, he also uses the other old 'Goebels' axiom, if you repeat a lie, long and forcefully enough with a fully compliant and obedient tame media, that asks no questions at any time, ultimately nearly everyone, comes to believe it is the truth, rather than the propaganda that it truly is!

He must be a real and absolute fan of Joseph Goebel's to fan, to use this crap to blindside us all, to his real hidden agenda!

Only time will tell!, as to his true and evil intentions!

[ericblr0716]

dude

Just so you know, Clinton was just as bad.

[cemetarydancer]

HI....I have a comment

Hello,
I don't necessarily agree with the whole web labeling law thing...I admit that pornography is a bad thing.But when they talk about censoring other sites (like poetry sites) that have explicit content I draw the line.It's bad enough that the government uses different tactics to try to censor everything we do and say but what they're doing here is messing with our constitutional rights.The expression of our individual selves is not there anymore because if you can't express yourself without getting arrested then you know it's getting bad in this country.This whole thing just sounds like some self-righteous people on a quest to be popular that are using morality issues as there sword and shield.Give it up because it gets old fast.

[thatkelly]

Silly Proposed Law

The problem with this law, as many have already suggested is that all kinds of images *might* be considered sexual enough to fall under this law, which means that if you have *any* images on your site you should registered your site as a sexually explicit site. That would effectively make the law worthless since all sites would eventually register to protect themselves.
There are plenty of products out there now to keep your kids from accessing sites you deem inappropriate. If you don't understand how to use these products you should probably not let your kids use the computer, or just send them to the library to use the Internet.

My .02

[BarebackJack]

Protection NOT the responsibility of webmasters

Sorry, people. This labeling thing is putting the responsibility for the safety of children on the wrong people. Parents, not webmasters, bear the full responsibility for their children's well being.

If a parent doesn't lock the gun case or keeps weapons out where children can get at them, and their kid (or someone else's kid) hurts himself, it's the parent's responsibility, not the weapon-maker's.

If a parent doesn't install child-proof latches on cabinets that contain toxic cleaning chemicals and insecticides and a child gets into the chemicals and becomes ill or dies, it is not the responsibility of the chemical company.

If a parent does not supervise his child and the child falls into a pool and drowns or almost drowns, it is not the responsibility of the pool builder nor the fence company (assuming there is a fence around the pool). It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian.

In any case where there is clear and present danger for children around the home, it is the PARENTS' responsibility to monitor their kids and provide the appropriate safeguards for their protection. And if the parents are negligent, CPS comes and hauls the parents away for negligence and child endangerment.

And now suddenly it is the responsibility of the webmaster to provide all sorts of protections to prevent children from accessing adult content (which is protected under the first amendment of the constitution), and the parents who are too self-absorbed and/or don't care enough to monitor their children while they surf the internet ~ which, according to Alberto Gonzales and others in Washington, presents a clear and present danger to the well-being of children ~ are suddenly held blameless?

Sorry. That holds no water. The internet is for EVERYONE, not just a handful of people with some specific concept of morality. If parents are going to allow their children access to the internet (and/or cable television) then they should be prepared to BE parents and act accordingly by monitoring their children while they surf the net... especially from inside their homes. The responsibility of monitoring / babysitting is not the webmaster's. It is solely that of the parents.

As with toxic chemicals, the webmaster can (and most do) put up a warning of some sort that the website contains adult content. But to threaten webmasters with imprisonment over this is ridiculous and another assault by this administration on our rights as adults. Gonzales is way off base. This is a matter for CPS, not the DOJ.

[Stan Kee]

Send The Communists Go To China. They'll be happy. Vote Libertarian.

How about all you sensitive non-real world living people just create a bubble and live in it for the rest of your lives. Or take a gun, put it to your head and natural select your way on up out of here. Please do us that favor. There are people out here who enjoy freedom, I can clearly see that you don't. I wish we could give you a one way plane ticket to China so your lives can be safely controlled by Government. Forget all the propaganda you've heard about China, if you never step out line you'll never have anything to worry about. That should satisfy the "if you're not doing anything wrong you don't have anything to be worried about" people. Be honest with yourself, you like repression. I see your type all the time. You love to wave the flag and talk about how the US is great because of freedom yet you are always the same people who support repressive measures by the government. Do us and yourself a favor.....Come out the closet.

[ajbright]

I call for a law

that prevents tech-illiterate lawmakers from ever recommending another tech-related law again.

In fact, better still - a law that bans anyone from elected public office that doesn't have at least a basic understanding of how computers work and what a network is.

So the guy that said
1/It's okay for Bush to give out national secrets for political gain..
2/It's okay for Bush to authorise a CIA wiretapping spree that over-reaches the very crimes committed by Nixon and brought about the very law (FISA) he claims he doesn't have to abide by..
3/Presidents should be allowed to authorize torture..
4/Picks random middle-eastern looking American citizens as scapegoats for this administration's inability to read basic intelligence briefs

has once again shown the world that Chairman Bush is free to make up or break whatever laws he chooses - and has our country's chief attorny general cheering him all the way..

[ericblr0716]

hnmmmmm

I think there's more to that story than just your hatred for
Christains. I would like to see some links to headlines and so forth.

[mosesasemota]

Mandatory Web Labeling law

I feel that the government should had focused on the issue of child exploitation long before now. The internet is just an sex pool area for all sorts of perverts who are looking to draw our children into their world. I know that most of us feel that we are good parents, and we try desperately to protect our kids, but there is not much we can do without the help of our government, we have to stop these sex offenders in their tracks, unfortunately the legitimate sex web sites has to be sensored as well, in order to catch the sick individuals who are determine to plot a web of deceit for our kids.

[ericblr0716]

What?!?!?!

Perverts have been around long before the internet was even
dreamed up. The internet is only a tool for sharing information
and nothing more. Just because someone misuses it doesn't
mean that the INTERNET itself is to blame. That is the kind of
resoning used by those who have no clue as to what they are
talking about. THE WORLD is a sex pool with all kinds of
perverts abound. They have chosen to use the internet to
spread their disease. For every perve who uses the net for ill
purposes there are at least 100 people who use the net to do
what it was designed for... research and communications. Read
your hstory. 1969 ARPANET was designed by the US military to
share intelligence information. ARPA net was later renamed to
the INTERNET "which is an acronym for "Network of Networks""
after it was expanded to schools and universities. The
worldwide web which is a graphical front end to the internet was
debuted in 1991 with the NCSA Mosiac browser and netscape
shortly afterwards. In short, the internet is not to blame for the
actions of a few perverts! If you are afraid of your kids
wandering into the wrong place on the web, then USE
PARENTING SKILLS and either keep an eye on your kids or get rid
of the internet. No amount of government regulation from Big
Brother is going to cure lazy parenting!! We DONT need the
government telling us how to run our lives and I am getting sick
of it!! If you cantg keep an eye on your kids then you dont need
A KID!!

[emeraldgate]

porn

It sure poses a problem for the thousands of innocent people who are drugged with
Rohypnol and raped with animals, without their knowledge or consent, and are sold on the internet.

What about the rights of individuals to their own bodies and their own images and their own SAFETY!

I congratulate China for not allowing pornography in their internet air space.

Apparently, all you supposed 'freedom' lovers, just really love the right to do whatever you want, to whomever you want, whenever you want. Apparently, the big green money machine is just never satisfied and will do anything for a buck.

It astounds me how Bush can talk about human dignity while l000's of people in North America are being drugged and raped with animals and sold on the internet. It is disgusting.

Dianne

[blobwhite]

Bad, bad, idea

A bug in a computer program is often defined as a portion of a program that does not work the way the user would prefer. This means there are no bug free programs and it also means there are no non-pornographic web sites especially and including this one. Is it not obscene that this site allows you to deem the contents of a message uncouth but does not allow someone to praise it as mandatory reading? Or paraphrasing Vince Lombardi "It is not whether you get 'knocked up' but whether you really can 'get down'". The meanie is in the high of the frijole.

[emeraldgate]

police state

This is already a police state. Where have you been? Civil liberities, HA! This law does not go far enough. It is a joke.
Millions of women, children (and many men) have been drugged with rohypnol, raped and sold on the internet. Where are their civil liberities? You want the right to watch these assaults and think that it is your right? Google has over 3 million of these terrible sites. Many of these site openly declare that they are RAPES! If the people could not be sold on the internet many of the assaults would not be happening. All the government is asking for is 'clear labelling'. What a joke! Gonzales, the Supreme Court and the whole damn government should be in jail for their complete and total disregard for human rights. THEY SHOULD TOTALLY SHUT IT DOWN. These victims are NOT CONSENTING. They have a constitutionaly right to be able to live in safety in the sanctity of their own homes. They have an inherent copyright on their own images. NO ONE can take your picture and sell it anywhere WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT. Drugged consent is NOT consent. Children have a constitutional human right not to be raped. Everyone has a legal right NOT TO BE RAPED. Why are all you so-called libertarians so hyped up to protect the criminals?The whole government should be impeached for its total culpability for the continuation of such horrendous attacks. They KNOW how this stuff is getting produced. THEY DEVELOPED IT. It was the CIA who rescued the Nazi doctors after the second world war and had them come to America. It was the CIA that began the use of Rohypnol and it was the CIA the really put the steam in child porn and beastiality porn. They did it themselves that is why they won't get rid of it. They like to see octogenarians done with dogs. It really gets them wet to see people suffer like this.

[emeraldgate]

police state

This is already a police state. Where have you been? Civil liberities, HA! This law does not go far enough. It is a joke.
Millions of women, children (and many men) have been drugged with rohypnol, raped and sold on the internet. Where are their civil liberities? You want the right to watch these assaults and think that it is your right? Google has over 3 million of these terrible sites. Many of these site openly declare that they are RAPES! If the people could not be sold on the internet many of the assaults would not be happening. All the government is asking for is 'clear labelling'. What a joke! Gonzales, the Supreme Court and the whole damn government should be in jail for their complete and total disregard for human rights. THEY SHOULD TOTALLY SHUT IT DOWN. These victims are NOT CONSENTING. They have a constitutionaly right to be able to live in safety in the sanctity of their own homes. They have an inherent copyright on their own images. NO ONE can take your picture and sell it anywhere WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT. Drugged consent is NOT consent. Children have a constitutional human right not to be raped. Everyone has a legal right NOT TO BE RAPED. Why are all you so-called libertarians so hyped up to protect the criminals?The whole government should be impeached for its total culpability for the continuation of such horrendous attacks. They KNOW how this stuff is getting produced. THEY DEVELOPED IT. It was the CIA who rescued the Nazi doctors after the second world war and had them come to America. It was the CIA that began the use of Rohypnol and it was the CIA the really put the steam in child porn and beastiality porn. They did it themselves that is why they won't get rid of it. They like to see octogenarians done with dogs. It really gets them wet to see people suffer like this.

Dianne