Amended in Assembly July 1, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 66

Introduced by Assembly Member Waldron

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Allen, Brown, Chávez, Beth Gaines, Grove, Medina, Melendez, Olsen, Quirk-Silva, Salas, Wagner, begin delete and Wilk end delete begin insert Wilk, end insert begin insert Ammiano, Atkins, end insert begin insert Bigelow, Bloom, end insert begin insert Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, end insert begin insert Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dahle, Daly, end insert begin insert Donnelly, end insert begin insert Fong, Fox, end insert begin insert Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hagman, end insert begin insert Harkey, end insert begin insert Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, end insert begin insert Lowenthal, end insert begin insert Mansoor, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, end insert begin insert Patterson, Perea, John A. Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Rendon, end insert begin insert Skinner, Stone, Ting, Weber, Williams, and Yamada end insert )

June 13, 2013

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 66—Relative to Internet crimes.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 66, as amended, Waldron. Internet Crimes Against Children Awareness Month.

This measure would designate October 2013 as Internet Crimes Against Children Awareness Month and state that the Legislature supports increased funding for the Internet Crimes Against Children task forces, online communications systems, or computer technology to help detect the sexual exploitation of children, updating reporting laws, and strengthening disclosure laws.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, Computers and the Internet have become prevalent
in California homes, schools, and libraries; and

WHEREAS, In 2010, 85 percent of children 3 to 17 years of
age had access to a computer at home, and almost 57 percent used
the Internet at home; and

WHEREAS, Children and adolescents commonly use computers
for playing games, completing school assignments, word
processing, e-mail, and connecting to the Internet; and

WHEREAS, Education is the single most common motivation
parents cite for their children to use the Internet from home; and

WHEREAS, While the Internet has helped to make education,
entertainment, and socialization more accessible for youth, it has
also made child victimization easier for predators; and

WHEREAS, Physical contact between the child and the
perpetrator does not need to occur for a child to become a victim
or for a crime to be committed; and

WHEREAS, Many victims of Internet crimes do not disclose
their victimization or even realize that they have been victims of
a crime; and

WHEREAS, Predators contact children over the Internet and
victimize them by enticing them through online contact for the
purpose of engaging them in sexual acts, using the Internet for the
production, manufacture, and distribution of child pornography,
using the Internet to expose youth to child pornography and
encourage them to exchange pornography, and enticing and
exploiting children for the purpose of sexual tourism (travel with
the intent to engage in sexual behavior) for commercial gain or
personal gratification; and

WHEREAS, Pornography is often used in the sexual
victimization of children. About 25 percent of children have been
exposed to unwanted pornographic material online; and

WHEREAS, One in seven children have received a sexual
solicitation online; and

WHEREAS, In the 2009 fiscal year, task forces participating
in the federal Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force
Program reported nearly 28,000 complaints, including child
pornography, enticement or obscenity directed to minors, and child
prostitution. These complaints resulted in more than 13,000
investigations; and

WHEREAS, Parents, school officials, law enforcement officers,
and other adults can prevent Internet crimes against children by
taking various measures, including keeping computers in open
areas, monitoring the amount of time a child spends online, and
educating children about the dangers of Internet crimes; now,
therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature designates October 2013
as Internet Crimes Against Children Awareness Month to educate
parents, children, and the general public about the critical issue of
Internet crimes against children statewide in order to protect
children against unspeakable crimes; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature supports increased funding for
ICAC task forces, online communications systems, or computer
technology to help detect the sexual exploitation of children,
updating reporting laws, and strengthening disclosure laws; and
be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.