President Increases Federal Efforts to Promote Online Safety
Remarks by the President on Children's Online Safety
Presidential Hall
Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. Welcome to the White
House. And thanks for the work that most of you do on behalf of
protecting this country's children. Because children are so
vulnerable, they need the constant protection of adults. And because
children are so vulnerable, they're often the targets of cruel and
ruthless criminals.
I am deeply saddened by the recent tragedy that we've seen here in
Washington. There is a ruthless person on the loose. I've ordered the
full resources of the federal government to help local law enforcement
officials in their efforts to capture this person. Laura and I join
our fellow Americans in prayer as we pray for the families and friends
who have lost loved ones, as we pray for the safety of our fellow
citizens, as we pray for the quick end to this period of violence and
fear.
Protecting children from sexual exploitation is also a priority.
It needs to be a priority, and is a priority, of this country. Earlier
this month I convened the first ever White House Conference on Missing,
Exploited and Runaway Children. And those efforts continue today.
I've just met with law enforcement representatives from the
federal, state and local level from several states who spend their time
tracking down and prosecuting online predators. These officials are
impressive people. They're the best of America. They're doing
difficult and disturbing and essential work. And I thank them for
coming here today.
Our nation has made this commitment: Anyone who targets a child
for harm will be a primary target of law enforcement. That's our
commitment. Anyone who takes the life or innocence of a child will be
punished to the full extent of the law.
Today, I want to discuss with you several aggressive steps we are
taking to protect our children from exploitation and from danger on the
Internet. I appreciate so very much Robert Mueller, the Director of
the FBI, is here with us today. I thank you for your service, for your
good work. I want to thank the Deputy Attorney General of the
Department of Justice, Larry Thompson, for being here. Mr. Deputy,
thanks for coming. Bob Bonners, the Commissioner of the U.S. Customs
Service, is with us today. They play an integral role in helping to
catch these predators overseas.
Federal, state and law enforcement officers and prosecutors who are
here with us today, ranging from California, to Alabama, to Maryland --
from all around the country -- I want to thank you all for being here
to hear this progress and commitment that we share for our country.
When a child's life or innocence is taken, a grave and unforgivable
act has occurred. A parent's worst nightmare has become real. And you
all here are on the front lines of this great struggle to see to it
that no parent has to live through the nightmare. That's what you're
doing.
The Internet is a remarkable technology. We've all learned that.
It's revolutionized education, vastly increased the flow of
information, increases our knowledge. We're now in closer touch with
our family and friends. People are now connected across the globe.
It's an exciting tool. But more than half of our nation children now
online -- let me start over -- more than half of the nation is now
online, and 75 percent of the children are online.
The flow of information is freer and broader. Yet the new freedom
presents us with an unprecedented challenge: A technology that brings
knowledge also brings obscenity and danger. Until recently, the worst
kind of pornography was mainly limited to red-light districts or
restricted to adults or confined by geography, isolated by shame. With
the Internet, pornography is now instantly available to any child who
has a computer. And in the hands of the wrong people, in the hands of
incredibly wicked people, the Internet is a tool that lures children
into real danger.
Sexual predators use the Internet to distribute child pornography
and obscenity. They use the Internet to engage in sexually explicit
conversations. They use the Internet to lure children out of the
safety of their homes into harm's way. Every day, millions of children
log on to the Internet, and every day we learn more about the evil of
the world that has crept into it. In a single year, one in four
children between the ages of 10 and 17 is voluntarily -- involuntarily
exposed to pornography. That's one in four children. One in five
children receives a sexual solicitation over the Internet. One in 17
children is threatened or harassed. We've got a widespread problem,
and we're going to deal with it.
We don't accept this kind of degrading. It's unacceptable to
America. We don't accept offensive conduct like this in our schools,
in the commercial establishments, and we can't accept it in our homes.
We cannot allow this to happen to our children. The chief
responsibility to protect America's children lies with their parents.
You are responsible for the welfare of your child. It's your
responsibility.
There are several practical things parents can do to protect their
children from the dangers of online predators. First of all, pay
attention to your children. If you love your children, pay attention
to them. Know what they're doing. Share your experience with your
children. Make it clear to your children about the potential online
dangers they face. Make it clear to them the kinds of websites they
need to avoid.
Children need to be told to never provide personal information to
anyone online. It seems like a simple parental responsibility.
Mothers and dads all across America need to do their job and make it
clear to their children there can be danger by providing personal
information. Don't share any passwords -- that's a logical thing for a
mom or a dad to do, tell their children not to share a password with a
total stranger. Don't agree to meet with somebody they've never met.
Don't agree to meet with somebody that chats them up on the Internet,
unless the mom or dad is with them.
Parents should keep computers in a central location, and check up
on what their kids are doing. They ought to not ignore what their
children are doing. They ought to pay attention to their children.
They have a responsibility. A mother or dad ought to pay just as much
attention to their child when they're on the Internet as if they're in
a playground, or walking in the mall.
Parents have the first and foremost responsibility. Yet we as a
society share this duty, as well, and that's what we were talking about
today. Parents need allies in the upbringing of their children. Our
nation should make the essential work of mothers and fathers easier,
not harder. Our government, at every level, must take the side of
responsible parents, and we will.
We're waging an aggressive nationwide effort to prevent the use of
the Internet to sexually exploit and endanger children. That's what
we're doing. I want to share some of that with you today. Through an
FBI program called Innocent Images, we identify, we investigate, and we
prosecute sexual predators across the country.
FBI agents are obtaining evidence of criminal Internet activity by
conducting undercover operation, using fictitious screen names and
entering into online chat rooms. I had the honor of listening to one
such FBI agent today. She was telling us what it's like to deal with
these sick minds. Interesting, afterwards I said, it must be tough to
do the job you do. She says, I have two children, I don't want it to
ever happen to any child. I appreciate your dedication.
Innocent Images prosecutions increased by more than 50 percent over
the last two years. We're making progress. Just like we're hunting
the terrorists down one at a time, we're hunting these predators down
one at a time, too. Based on the progress, I'm pleased to announce
that we will expand this program and significantly increase the funding
in the next fiscal year. We will also seek to almost double funding
for the Internet crimes against children task forces, from $6.5 million
in fiscal year 2002 to $12.5 million in fiscal 2003. These task forces
help state and local authorities enforce laws against child pornography
and exploitation.
Since 1998, the task forces have helped train more than 1,500
prosecutors, and 1,900 investigators. They've served 700 search
warrants and 1,400 subpoenas. The task forces have provided direct,
investigative assistance in more than 3,000 cases. They've arrested
more than 1,400 suspects. These task forces are a great success.
They're a great success because we've got a lot of good people working
on these projects, a lot of dedicated Americans whose stomachs turn
when they realize what's happening to our children, great Americans who
decided to do something about it.
This additional funding I've announced means that in -- we'll
increase the number of regional task forces, up to 40 around the
country. Our efforts to fight Internet exploitation of children extend
throughout this government, throughout all levels of government. The
U.S. Postal Inspection service provides an important role in tracking
sexual predators, because child pornographers often use the mail to
purchase obscene materials off the Internet. In Operation Avalanche,
postal inspectors created an undercover website which they used to
bring down what is to believe -- what is believed to be the largest
commercial child pornography enterprise ever encountered by law
enforcement authorities in the United States. They started in Texas;
it ended in Texas -- because of the hard work of the postal inspectors,
the good work of prosecutors, and the sentencing of one tough federal
judge.
The Customs Service is conducting Operation Hamlet, which earlier
this year dismantled an international ring of child molesters, an
international ring of sick minds. Acting on a tip from European
authorities, Customs officers tracked down child molesters in the
United States, many of whom were molesting their own children and
distributing the images of these children on the Internet. Authorities
have identified 25 individuals involved in this ring -- 14 of whom were
Americans. Through Operation Hamlet, 65 children have been rescued.
We're taking aggressive steps to protect children from exploitation
and victimization. And the United States Congress can help by passing
the Child Obscenity and Pornography Prevention Act. The House has
passed this important bill, and I want to thank them for their good
work.
The House passed a bill which makes it illegal for child
pornographers to disseminate obscene, computer-generated images of
children. It's an important piece of legislation. The Senate needs to
act soon. The Senate needs to get moving and join the House in
providing our prosecutors with the tools necessary to help shut down
this obscenity, this crime -- these crimes against children.
When a child's life or innocence is taken, a grave an unforgivable
act has occurred. A parent's worst nightmare has come real. People in
this room are on the front lines of a great struggle, determined to see
that no parent is forced to live through a nightmare.
I'm tremendously grateful for the good works. I want to thank you
all for being true patriots. I want you to know at the federal level
we're joining in the fight. We'll go after them one person at a time
to make America a promising place for everybody who lives here. May
God bless your work, and may God bless America. (Applause.) Thank you
all.