Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 8, 1995 TAG: 9505080136
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHICAGO TRIBUNE
DATELINE: SPRINGFIELD, ILL. LENGTH: Medium
Child pornography. Sex talk. Serious come-ons and propositions. ``You wouldn't believe some of this stuff,'' said Dudycz, R-Chicago. ``Every time I sit down at the computer, I've got some pornographic picture waiting for me.''
In only a few weeks, Dudycz has seen how ugly things can get on the Internet. So, this spring, he is sponsoring a bill in the General Assembly to forbid adults from soliciting minors for sex on the Internet. The Senate already has approved the measure, and it awaits consideration in the House.
Dudycz says it's the first of many bills to come, as he continues to prowl the Internet and discover the societal perils he's sure it harbors.
He's not the only one brainstorming. Lawmakers everywhere are concerned that, in the murky expanse of cyberspace, the laws that already bind more familiar terrain do not apply.
It's already against the law to distribute child pornography by any means. It's illegal to solicit a minor for sex, no matter how you do it. You can't promise sex for money via the telephone, the U.S. Postal Service or any other way.
But for many, it seems less clear with the Internet, if only because it remains a new world to the American mainstream. And while Internet devotees and civil libertarians argue that all these special laws for on-line services are unnecessary, their sponsors are charging ahead.
Prompted by a few high-profile cases of adult literature and pictures on the Internet, Congress is considering outlawing the trade of any obscene material on the Internet.
Georgia and Florida have passed laws specifically targeted at the Internet, and several other states, including Illinois and California, are considering them.
Proponents of the laws say the problem is that even though the standing laws probably apply, the Internet is just so new that many offenders are not being prosecuted. The new laws would inform and equip authorities to fight lawbreakers in the unexplored territory, they said.
``It's only fair for the government to step in and protect kids,'' said Bruce Taylor, counsel for the National Coalition Against Pornography, whose group is concerned that racy material is available to children using on-line services.
In fact, policing the Internet is not much different from policing the corner store. Anybody who goes to a convenience store and notices illegal child pornography on the book stand can notify the police or file a complaint.
In the same way, investigators who search for illegal transmissions on the Internet discover them quickly. Much of what people find objectionable comes from the users themselves. Evocative chat, erotic stories and pornographic pictures are found in public ``chat rooms,'' on bulletin boards and in private transmissions among users.
So civil libertarians and Internet users argue that police don't need new laws to do their job. Further, they are worried that authorities will conduct witch hunts, infringing on users' right to free speech.
Proposed laws such as that of Sen. James Exon, D-Neb., now pending in Congress, are the result of ``hype and panic,'' one Internet user said.
A detective in the Chicago Police Department, Dudycz decided to go undercover on the Internet to see just how intimate people were willing to get. He filled out his computer profile to say he is a 15-year-old girl from Chicago and set up a screen name. Dudycz doesn't want to disclose the name he uses, but it is similar to ``Bashful.''
Dudycz said ``Bashful'' routinely is propositioned as ``she'' moves from chat room to chat room and talks with other users via e-mail and instant messaging systems. Dudycz gets a lot of pornography, and one person has invited ``Bashful'' to pose nude for him.
When he signed on recently, there already were three pornographic photographs sent to him by other users.
Then he began to wander from chat room to chat room. Within minutes, ``Bashful'' had met ``Beta,'' a 39-year-old engineer.
``How about a picture of yourself?'' asked Beta.
``Don't have one yet,'' said Bashful.
``Well then, describe yourself,'' said Beta.
``My boyfriend says I'm pretty. I've got brown hair, blue eyes. 5'5,'' 115 pounds.''
Beta suggested a hotel meeting in Chicago and a specific sex act.
``I'm 15. That OK?'' Bashful replied.
``I love girls like you,'' replied Beta.
So far, Dudycz hasn't busted anybody for solicitation. But he has compiled a list of screen names and is corresponding with several in anticipation of a sting operation by Chicago police.
As for his bill, Dudycz said, he hopes it at least will alert parents to what's going on on the Internet.
``A parent thinks, `Hey, my kid's upstairs playing with the computer. Good for him,''' Dudycz said. ``Well, he may not be doing his homework.''
by CNB