Warning: Unsolicited Porn Invades Families, Homes

Unsolicited e-mails. I am simply amazed at the amount of unsolicited e-mails that intrude on my personal computer at home. I did not "opt-in" for anything. One e-mail explained that my e-mail address had been come from a purchased list where supposedly I had requested information. Since then I have been bombarded with material I didn’t request.

At the bottom of some e-mails it says, "click to remove" but that doesn’t stem the flow. And it verifies to someone that they have a valid e-mail address. I don’t trust replying to these e-mails.

You may get more or less junk e-mails than I do, but here are the results of what has come in from July 4 to July 24. Of the 233 unsolicited e-mails, 43 were repeats. As if one isn’t enough.

Here are the big categories: scams or "business opportunities" too good to be true (39); mortgages, refinancing, credit cards, credit reports, etc (34); products to enhance sexual adequacy or performance (17); weight loss (16); Internet products, software or service (16); printer inkjets and toner products (13); and on-line pharmacy products (10). Those are some of the big offenders.

The worst statistic is yet to come. Fifty-three or 23 percent were unsolicited pornographic e-mails. The others can be deleted with a few clicks - an aggravating, time consuming nuisance.

Porn is different. These violate my family’s values and right to control what comes into our home. The words and graphics are unbelievably offensive. My first version of this column listed them for shock value - but they were too shocking and I would be offending you just like they offended me. I printed a copy of each as proof that the first screen of these unsolicited e-mails goes beyond what I would consider free speech.

I have a 15 year-old son at home. I trust him. He is offended. Other 15 years olds may not be. I don’t have younger preteens on the computer. Thank goodness! I am offended. My wife is offended. Other families and parents might not be so fortunate. Whoever I talk with seems to have the same problem. They feel helpless against the onslaught of slut and crud appearing on their screens.

These are not harmless images or words. They leave lasting and unwanted memories. They offend the spirit. It is a wound. A trauma. And in the case of children, electronic sexual abuse.

The next two paragraphs were x-rated. Here is sanitized version of the content.

One site said this: "HARDCORE WEB CAMS!!! Free hardcore cams 100 % free. Get free instant access to thousands of live hardcore web cams. Real amateur teens, lesbians, couples, groups and much more. Get instant access to the free xxx web cams now! [8 clicks are offered] 100 % free!!! See over 1000 hot college girls, on our Free Live Web cams! Click here for your free pass. These pictures are not very revealing because kids may see this page.

On the webcam they get very naked and very nasty! All you have to do is click here for your free password!!!"

Other sites describe ejaculate on female faces and sex with animals. They use slang terms for female genitalia and breasts, transsexuals, lesbians, oral sex, anal sex, double penetration, full anal penetration. They offer streaming hardcore videos and porn cartoons and personal invitations to webcam sites promising live displays, some with naked and vulgar teens.

If the sites don’t have offensive graphics initially (some do - they are the worst), the rest are just one click away. The 53 e-mails offered 223 clicks. The opportunity for exposure to children is rampant. One click away.

Let’s do something. My son-in-law has an Internet business and has studied Internet security in terms of protecting his own business. He and I are working with Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota to introduce legislation that would, by using internet technology, confine the pornographers to their own "Red Light District" and subject them to fines and prosecution for sending out unsolicited pornography.

It is essential that the same laws that exist in our nation be applied to the Internet. Federal and state regulations that apply to the mail system must also apply to e-mail. There should be no legal difference between a person handing out or mailing printed explicit material to minors and that same person e-mailing it to them or providing a link to where it is immediately available. Parents of children that receive pornography solicitations by e-mail should have the same legal recourse to file charges or sue for damages as parents of children who receive comparable material by mail.

The key is to give pornographers their own domain name, such as .sex, .xxx or .porn. Computers could block any incoming e-mails with that designation. People who want that kind of Internet slime can go look for it while the rest of us don’t have to look at it or read offensive words. There are also ways to control international transmission of pornography.

It is time to regulate the Internet. At least in this area. The rest of the spam can wait.