SEPTEMBER 3, 2003

TECHNOLOGY
Religious groups target pornographic spam

Pornographic spam seems unstoppable, even as legions of legislators and computer experts try. Meanwhile, a new opponent of spam has been gathering steam: religious activists, who say porn exploits, addicts and warps.

People from a wide swath of faiths and denominations have joined the battle for state and national legislation targeting unwanted and unsolicited email. On a local level, youth ministries are confronting the effects of porn spam, and religious organizations are starting or expanding ministries for those whose lives have been damaged by pornography.

Questions for reporters
• What do religious groups say the effect of Internet pornography is on marriages, families, workplaces and children?
• What do youth workers see as the danger of pornography for young people who view it?
• How do religious groups in your area actively fight pornography with community projects and ministries? Given the widespread and international scope of the problem, do they feel they are having any effect?
• What ministries exist in your area for people who identify themselves as pornography addicts - or for addicts' loved ones? How have lives been changed by them?
• What do people of various faiths say about their communities' responsibility for fighting Internet pornography and spam?
• Have social attitudes toward pornography changed as hard-core porn has become more available and inescapable? Are people desensitized to it?

Why it matters
Religious activists say porn isn't just a matter of morality. They say it has an addictive effect that exploits people, warps men's and boys' views of women, and hurts users' abilities to have healthy sexual relationships.

Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

Skip to background

National legislation

• In April 2003, Sens. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced S877, the CAN-SPAM Act, designed to protect computer users from unsolicited commercial email. Read a news release from Burns' office. Check the bill's status at Thomas, the Library of Congress' information site. Contact Burns staffer Jennifer O'Shea, 202-224-6830.
• Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., is pushing legislation to reduce spam, especially pornographic junk email. The Christian Coalition has endorsed the bill. Read a June 12, 2003, Schumer news release. Read a June 11, 2003, Associated Press article, "Spam Fight Makes Unlikely Allies," posted by Beliefnet.com.
• Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Sen. Jon S. Corzine, D-N.J., are sponsoring the REDUCE SPAM Act of 2003, which would enlist private "bounty hunters" to track down illegal email marketers. Read a July 9, 2003, Lofgren news release. Contact Lofgren staffer Christine Glunz, 202-225-3072.
• Sen. Bill Nelson, D- Fla., has introduced a bill that would allow spammers to be prosecuted under the federal racketeering law. Read a May 12, 2003, Nelson news release. Nelson's office posts links to related news coverage. Contact Nelson staffers Dan McLaughlin or Gretchen Hitchner, 202-224-1679.
• House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin, R-La., House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and Rep. Richard Burr, R-N.C., introduced H.R. 2214, the RID SPAM Act of 2003, which lets consumers opt out of any commercial email they choose not to receive. Read a May 23, 2003, news release. Contact Ken Johnson (Energy and Commerce Committee), 202-225-5735; Jeff Lungren (Judiciary Committee), 202-225-2492; or Burr staffer Kimrey Rhinehardt, 202-225-2071.

National sources

CHRISTIAN
• Robert W. Peters is president of New York City-based Morality in Media. In June 2002, the organization started Obscenitycrimes.org, which receives complaints about pornographic spam and sends reports to U.S. Attorneys. Contact Patrick McGrath, 212-870-3222, mim@moralityinmedia.org.
• As of Sept. 1, 2003, Tony Perkins is president of the Family Research Council, which promotes Judeo-Christian ethics and supports policies to eliminate hard-core pornography from the open market. Contact Kristin Hansen, media director, 202-393-2100.
• Daniel L. Weiss is policy analyst for media and sexuality for Focus on the Family. Contact him through David Gasak at 719-548-4570 or Rachel Keehne at 719-268-4890 or culturalissues@family.org.
• CitizenLink/Focus on Social Issues, part of Focus in the Family, tracks national pornography developments and state/local pornography developments.
• Roberta Combs is president of the Christian Coalition of America. Read a June 11, 2003, news release about the coalition's support of Sen. Charles Schumer's anti-spam legislation. Contact Michele Ammons, 202-479-6900, michele@cc.org.
• Wendy Wright is senior policy director for Concerned Women for America, which wrote letters to all 93 U.S. Attorneys asking them to more vigilantly investigate obscenity complaints received through www.obscenitycrimes.org. Contact 202- 488-7000, mail@cwfa.org.
• Donna Rice Hughes of Great Falls, Va., is the volunteer president of Enough Is Enough, a Christian group working against Internet pornography and sexual predators. She also has her own Internet safety site, ProtectKids.com. Contact ricehughes@aol.com.
• Mike Atkinson is Internet director of Youth Specialties, which serves a wide variety of Catholic and Protestant youth workers and publishes Youthworker magazine. He says teens live on the Internet. Contact 619-440-2333, Mikey@youthspecialties.com.
• J.R. Whitby is director of Gospelcom.net, the host for 260 online ministries. Gospelcom.net includes a youth section, a message board forum for teens. Contact 231-773-3361, jrw@gospelcom.net.
• Andrew Careaga is a youth worker who has written three books about the Internet and ministry, including eMinistry: Connecting with the Net Generation (Kregel, 2001). Contact 573-341-4183, Andrew@kregel.com.

JEWISH
• Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, author of Kosher Sex (Mainstreet Books, 2000) and Dating Secrets of the Ten Commandments (Broadway Books, 2001) writes about sex and culture from a Jewish perspective. Contact 212-792-6285, shmuley@shmuley.com.
• Michelle Cove is directing a teen initiative at Jewish Family & Life, which publishes a number of webzines and recently conducted focus group research with Jewish teens. Contact 617-581-6821, mcove@jflmedia.com.

MUSLIM
• Malik Mujahid is founder and president of Soundvision.com, a Web-based resource for Muslims. Its teen section is the most active part. Contact 708-430-1255, ext. 405, or info@soundvision.com.
• Shabbir Mansuri is founding director of the Council on Islamic Education in Fountain Valley, Calif. Contact 714-839-2929 or info@cie.org.

Background

• Internet security firm Symantec Corp. announced in June 2003 that a survey, conducted online by Applied Research, a market research firm, found that more than 80 percent of children surveyed who use email receive inappropriate spam on a daily basis. The survey found that one in five children open and read spam mail. Read a Symantec news release.
• Tim Muris, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, says anti-spam proposals in Congress are not sufficiently strict, according to an Aug. 19, 2003, CNET News.com story.
• The Federal Trade Commission has asked Congress for broader powers to fight spam, according to a June 11, 2003, CNET News.com story.
• Read a July 24, 2003, Stateline.org article, "State Laws Fail to Suppress Spam."
• The Justice Department has appealed a lower court ruling that the Child Online Protection Act, approved by Congress in 1998, is unconstitutional, according to an Aug. 14, 2003, Family News in Focus article.