The PROTECT Act became law in 2003. PROTECT stands for Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today. It has numerous provisions but the one that caught my eye is the one called the ‘pandering provision’. It conferred criminal liability on anyone who knowingly:

… advertises, promotes, presents, distributes, or solicits through the mails, or in interstate or foreign commerce by any means, including by computer, any material or purported material in a manner that reflects the belief, or that is intended to cause another to believe, that the material or purported material is, or contains (i) an obscene visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; or (ii) a visual depiction of an actual minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

On this blog, Akismet traps spam comments promoting child porn sites most every day. What if one gets past Akismet and appears on my blog for the public to view? Does that make me a criminal? Does the fact that it is there on my blog satisfy the ‘knowingly’ qualifier?

Some think this provision is overly broad and have challenged it in court. The Supreme Court has taken a case regarding the Act, but I couldn’t find any details on the case. I don’t know if they are looking at the pandering provision.