The head of the United States Federal Trade Commission would like to see dial-up port numbers that are being used for free in search engines and on the Internet. The government is already combating online pornography and other forms of online sexual assault, so it may not be possible to regulate adult websites on the Internet. Many members of Congress worry that the FTC's new rules will increase costs and make it more difficult for small businesses to offer services to their customers. If the FCC passes into law it will need to seek a waiver to allow cable and phone companies access to the materials on the Internet to restrict customers.

The United States Congress is currently working on legislation to safeguard children and their families from online pornography or other content that is in violation of Section 223. The penal code refers to depictions of someone engaged in actual sex from going beyond "the normal" sexual pleasures that, according to the Supreme Court, is acceptable for viewing by a reasonable adult. The Supreme Court ruled that the provision is constitutional in order to limit the freedom of speech for those who use the Net to engage in sexual sex.

The issue arises when someone utilizes the Net for a business purpose like shopping or conducting research without providing all the necessary information to the user as to what material is considered obscene. Many stores sell merchandise and goods via catalogues and advertisements. If you look through the catalog, you will see images of naked people, but when a customer visits the website and uses the webcam to look at the products that are displayed on the site this is considered adultery in some states and could result in criminal prosecution. In the case of the Kelsey Gaudry Kebab shop in Manhattan a customer was prosecuted for watching a nipple clip on the Web site numeri erotici.

The problem with the proposed FCC rules is that they will make lists of websites' content that doesn't contain obscenity and vulgar language difficult to maintain. This defense rule in part would also apply to audio. The FCC is unable to get around the fundamental intent of the legislation. They have failed to define "obscenity" in relation to verbal descriptions or adult material from naked individuals. The FCC's classification of" nudity" as "vulgar language" was rejected by the courts in an attempt to defy the Congress's intent.

Even in the event that the FCC gets its way, Congress will still have something to say about it. Rep. Barney Frank (D-PA), plans to introduce a resolution that would require the FCC to study and issue rules regarding adult content on the Internet. I wonder whether the White House will come down on this as well? Probably not, given the fact that the White House and majority Democrats in Congress are in favor of an open market in which Internet service providers can freely sell adult content to consumers.

What will the FCC's decisions on dial-up pornography or auto dialer programs (which allow users to access adult material without having broadband access) create problems? Many experts predict that it could cause an enormous PR problem for the FCC as there are already cases of employees being fired for exposing sexual harassment in workplace settings. Another issue is that a lot of the FCC's proposed rules regarding privacy and indecency, which would apply to the Internet however, are not applicable to audio programming. What are the proposed rules of the FCC for broadcasting audio also be removed?