"An Act relating to the crime of distribution of child pornography."

SB 96 is preventative and not targeted at any known activity in Alaska. It is meant to ensure that we do not have a legal climate that would attract business that provide billing services on behalf of "fee-based" child porn web sites.

It is physically possible for any person with a computer and average computer skills can create a website and show any picture they want to post on that site; from anywhere there is a telephone connection; at almost no cost. Unscrupulous opportunists, who do not care about children, post degrading pictures of them and skim profits by luring pedophiles to make credit card purchases of viewing time. It takes much less capital to put up an illegal and exploitive site than it does to create the billing scheme.

SB 96 bans ancillary services for "fee-based" child porn sites by making such activity a class B felony allowing up to $100,000 fine and 10 years in prison. It is already a felony to put child pornography on the web in Alaska, but unless we enact this bill, it would be legitimate to provide billing services for the owners of these sites that might be based in an off-shore boat or another country or even quietly and illegally right here under our noses. Our current law invites "unholy alliances" between pornography providers and what can appear to be a legitimate business.

Recently the State of Michigan discovered six of these companies and issued cease and desist orders on them; BillCards, CardBilling, Ccbill, LancelotSecurity, iBill, and Trust-Bill. All of these companies are still functioning from other locations. If you have any doubts, take the time to do some internet searches on them and, just looking at titles, you will see we are up against. SB 96 needs to be enacted without delay to preclude this damaging practice in Alaska.

Last Updated: 03/27/2003

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