Senate Approves Web Labeling; Bill Faces House Battle

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, with the backing of the Bush administration, approved an amendment to a wide-ranging telecommunications bill that would require mandatory website labeling on pages that contain explicit sexual images.

The entire communications bill still has a way to go before it can be signed into law, however. It must receive a final vote from the commerce committee and then the full Senate. The bill also would have to be reconciled with a House of Representatives version, championed by John Kyl, R-Ariz., which does not contain a mandatory labeling provision.

Both proposals were prompted by a speech from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in April, who called on Congress to act quickly to “prevent people from inadvertently stumbling across pornographic images on the Internet.”

According to CNET News, which has seen a copy of the bill, websites must not place sexually graphic images on their homepage, and they must rate “each page or screen of the website that does contain sexually explicit material,” according to a system to be determined by the Federal Trade Commission.

Webmasters who fail to properly label their sites would face up to five years in prison, according to the proposal.

“This will protect children from accidentally typing in the wrong address and immediately viewing indecent material,” Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., said. “[Politicians] have to take a bold step in this world of danger to our kids, and there are some people out there who prey on young children and they use the Internet and other methods to feed their sickness.”

First Amendment Attorney Lawrence G. Walters offers a different point of view.

“Forcing speech on a publisher is problematic,” Walters told XBIZ. “I’m not against voluntary labeling. In fact, we need to do that to ward off government regulation. Many adult sites label their content with warning pages, but it might not have been widespread enough. I think the government will find that voluntary labeling is pervasive among adult sites, but we don’t have a uniform system. Most adult sites already comply.”

Walters mentioned the video game, music and movie industries as examples of the effective use of self-labeling.

“Unfortunately, web content has been fractured and inconsistent with labeling because of how unwieldy the international web is,” Walters said, citing the Internet’s tremendous worldwide scope and operations. “Depending on the final wording — and it still has a long way to go yet — I think this [bill] would technically be hard to enforce given how much content is out there. It’s unfortunate the adult industry couldn’t do enough to head off this type of legislation.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

OurDream.ai Debuts New Porn Generator

OurDream.ai, an AI porn-generating platform, has launched an upgraded version of its AI engine.

AEBN Publishes Popular Searches by Country for February, March

AEBN has released the list of popular searches from its straight and gay theaters by country in February and March.

BranditScan Launches 'Referral Rush' Promo

BranditScan has launched its Referral Rush promotion for creators.

2025 AltStar Awards Nominees Announced

Nominations have been announced for the 2025 AltStar Awards, aka the AltPorn Awards, presented by Bad Dragon.

AI Erotic Storytelling Platform 'AIEroticSmut' Launches

AIEroticSmut.com, a DIY erotic storytelling platform, has officially launched.

TeamSkeet, MYLF to Launch New Website FamilyStrokes.com

Sister studios TeamSkeet and MYLF are launching a new website, FamilyStrokes.com.

AV Bulletin: Age Verification Hits the Mainstream, Ofcom Sets a Date

Industry stakeholders and free speech advocates have anxiously been awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, which could significantly impact state age verification laws around the country. In the meantime, state legislatures continue to weigh and pass AV bills, AV tech providers continue to tout their services, and legal challenges continue to play out in the courts — with some cases on hold pending the SCOTUS ruling in Paxton.

Segpay Names Kristi Greer VP of Sales

Segpay has promoted long-time employee Kristi Greer to the position of vice president of sales.

BranditScan Names Subgirl Newest Brand Ambassador

BranditScan has named content creator Subgirl its newest brand ambassador.

Arcom Reports Age Verification Enforcement Actions Against 5 Adult Sites

French media regulator Arcom released a statement Tuesday detailing recent actions to enforce age verification rules as set forth under France’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law.

Show More