[NOTE: This document comes from Rep. Eshoo's office, and is not an EFF 
summary.]


	Executive Summary: The Online Parental Control Act of 1996
		     Introduced by Rep. Anna Eshoo

The Online Parental Control Act of 1996 (OPCA) would remove the 
"indecency" standard and its definition from section 223(a)(1)(B) and 
section 223(d)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934.

In place of the "indecency" standard, OPCA would substitute the "harmful 
to minors" standard in both sections.

Under OPCA, sexually explicit material would be deemed "harmful to 
minors" if it met all of the following criteria:
		
		-- Considered as a whole, the matter appeals to the 
		prurient interest of minors.
		-- The matter is patently offensive as determined by 
		contemporary local community standards in terms of what is
		suitable for minors.
		-- Considered as a whole, the matter lacks serious 
		literary, artistic, political, educational, or scientific
		 value for minors.

OPCA maintains the two existing legal defenses contained in section 
223(e)(5) of the Communications Act of 1934 (i.e., blocking or 
restricting material found to be obscene or harmful to minors and 
restricting access to such material by adult access code or verified 
credit card. _However,_OPCA_adds_two_new_defenses_to_this_section_to_account_
_for_rapidly_changing_technological_advances_in_the_field_:

	-- the use of labeling and blocking systems to restrict access to 
	Internet sites, such as the system developed by the Platform for
	Internet Content Selection (PICS) project. (PICS is the cross-industry
	working group assembled under the auspices of MIT's World Wide Web 
	Consortium to develop an easy-to-use Internet content labeling and
	selection platform that empowers people worldwide to selectively
	control online content they receive through personal computers.)
	
	-- the use of other devices, systems, or methods that serve the 
	function of allowing adults to prevent access to communications that
	are obscene or harmful to minors if they are as reasonable, effective,
	and appropriate as the blocking, adult access code, and labeling
	systems found in section 223(e)(5) of the Communications Act of 1934,
	as amended by the OPCA.

OPCA would protect providers or users of interactive computer services, 
information content providers, and access software providers from civil 
or criminal liability under state law for making available to minors a 
communication that is indecent or harmful to minors if they take actions 
to qualify for defenses provided in the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended by OPCA (i.e., blocking, adult access codes, labeling, or other 
effective methods).