Cybertelecom Federal Internet Law & Policy An Educational Project

DNS: Truth in Domain Name Act

Truth in Domain Names Act of 2003

As a part of the massive 2003 PROTECT Act (Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today Act), which included the AMBER Alert legislation, Congresspassed the Truth in Domain Names Act. The Truth in Domain Names Act is an attempt to thwart the use of deceitful domain names for the purpose of attracting surfers to pornographic websites. A demonstration of the usefulness of the law is quite simple. Go to whitehouse.gov and you will find out information concerning the President of the United States; go to whitehouse.com and, well, you will find out something else; it may deal with White House interns but it is probably not what you are looking for if you meant to find out information concerning the latest executive order.

The legislation is straight forward. Those who use domain names in order to trick people into viewing obscenity will land up in the slammer; trick kids into viewing material harmful to minors (see COPA) and you end up in the slammer for longer.

The Department of Justice broke this new law in with a bang in 2003, arresting John Zuccarini. Zuccarini reportedly was a notorious typo squatter, taking advantage of individuals who type domain names incorrectly. Zuccarini apparently was the owner of Teltubbies.com and Bobthebiulder.com which directed individuals to a porn site known as Hanky Panky College. For these actions, Zuccarini, the first individual arrested under the Act, was sentenced to two and a half years contemplation of his deeds behind bars.

18 U.S.C. § 2252B. Misleading domain names on the Internet

[Check For Updated Version of 18 U.S.C. § 2252B]
(a) Whoever knowingly uses a misleading domain name on the Internet with the intent to deceive a person into viewing material constituting obscenity shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
(b) Whoever knowingly uses a misleading domain name on the Internet with the intent to deceive a minor into viewing material that is harmful to minors on the Internet shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 4 years, or both.
(c) For the purposes of this section, a domain name that includes a word or words to indicate the sexual content of the site, such as `sex' or `porn', is not misleading.
(d) For the purposes of this section, the term `material that is harmful to minors' means any communication, consisting of nudity, sex, or excretion, that, taken as a whole and with reference to its context--

(1) predominantly appeals to a prurient interest of minors;
(2) is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable material for minors; and
(3) lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.

(e) For the purposes of subsection (d), the term `sex' means acts of masturbation, sexual intercourse, or physical contact with a person's genitals, or the condition of human male or female genitals when in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal'.

Legislative History

Truth in Domain Names Act, Pub. L. 108-21, sec. 521(a), 117 Stat. 686., codified as 18 U.S.C. § 2252B.

H.R.939 Truth in Domain Names Act
Title: To amend title 18, United States Code, to punish persons who use false or misleading domain names to attract children to Internet sites not appropriate for children. Sponsor: Rep Pence, Mike [IN-6] (introduced 2/26/2003), House 3/7/03
Passed as a part of the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003  PROTECT ACT S 151 Sec 521

H.AMDT.18 to H.R.1104 Amendment makes it a criminal act to knowingly use a misleading domain name with the intent to deceive a person into viewing obscenity on the Internet or knowingly deceive a minor into viewing material on the Internet that is harmful to minors. Sponsor: Rep Pence, Mike [IN-6] (introduced 3/27/2003), House 4/4/03

S.800 Truth in Domain Names Act of 2003 :
A bill to prevent the use of a misleading domain name with the intent to deceive a person into viewing obscenity on the Internet. Sponsor: Sen Hatch, Orrin G. [UT] (introduced 4/7/2003)

Law

• The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (Pub. L. No.109-248 (July 27, 2006)) “Prohibits anyone from using innocent or misleading words or images, such as “Barbie” or “Furby,” that confuse a minor into viewing a harmful Web site. The law also prohibits knowingly using the Internet to sell or distribute date rape drugs to an unauthorized purchaser or with the intent to commit criminal sexual conduct.“

News

• Man sentenced for registering misleading Web site names, USA Today 3/1/2004
• Porn Law Targets Cybersquatters, Wired 9/5/03
• First Arrest:  Porn Law Targets Cybersquatters  WIRED Sept 5, 2003  :
• September 4, 2003 Web Scammer Charged With Luring Children to Sex Sites By Roy Mark