Vitter applauds U.S. Senate passage of child porn bill

New Orleans CityBusiness, May 21, 2008

A bill passed by the Senate would close a loophole that allows those who view child pornography to avoid prosecution as long as they don't download or save the images, said Sen. David Vitter, R- Metairie, a supporter of the bill.

Vitter on Wednesday applauded the Senate's passage of the Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act, a bill he worked on with Sens. John McCain, Jon Kyl and Charles Schumer. Vitter incorporated language from his Enhancing the Effective Prosecution of Child Pornography Act into the KIDS Act.

"An existing loophole allows individuals who view child pornography to avoid prosecution simply because they don't download or save the images," Vitter said. "The heinous nature of these crimes demands that we take additional steps to prevent access to these images so that we might in turn better protect children. My provision in the KIDS Act closes this loophole, making it more difficult for these abuses to continue."

Vitter's language clarifies criminal statutes so that that willfully accessing child pornography on the Internet constitutes possession, even if the user does not download or save the images.

The House must vote on the act before it heads to the president.