WASHINGTON, D.C. – A national group ostensibly devoted to ending sexual exploitation of women and children last week presented a list of demands to Congress and the White House. At the top of the list: The executive and judicial branches of the federal government must “vigorously enforce” obscenity laws.

During a three and one-half hour “briefing” for congressional and executive staff, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation presented what it calls “the Freedom from Sexploitation Agenda” — complete with conflation of pornography with obscenity.

“Freedom,” in NCOSE’s lexicon, is a relative term. In its pursuit of a laudable goal, the organization’s agenda seeks to limit more freedoms than it secures, particularly in the area of free speech.

“A recent meta-analysis of 22 studies from seven countries provides clear evidence confirming that pornography exposure is significantly associated with sexual aggression,” according to a position paper NCOSE distributed during the briefing. Therefore, the agenda items include:

Amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996 to allow prosecution of those who facilitate illegal commercial sex acts via the internet. Section 230 is the “safe harbor” clause that holds internet service providers and some websites harmless for what third parties post. NCOSE and its partners want safe harbor protections to explicitly exclude online escort sites.

Instruct the U.S. Attorney General to vigorously enforce current federal obscenity laws… According to NCOSE, existing laws “prohibit distribution of hardcore pornography” by any broadcast medium or common carrier (the internet and cellular phone companies, for example) as well as in brick-and-mortar stores.

Require that training programs informing military personnel about the harms of pornography be incorporated in anti-sexual assault trainings across all Department of Defense agencies. NCOSE calls for routine audits of all work areas, computers, storage drives and officers’ clubs across all branches of service. Bizarrely, it appears the group does not appear to be worried about smut among the enlisted ranks. (NCO clubs exist, too.)

In furtherance of the Department of Defense’s ‘2015 Combating Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) Instruction 2200.1,’ institute a rule making strip clubs off-limits to all U.S. military personnel worldwide. According to NCOSE, “Leering, jeering, sexual touching, lap dancing, acts of prostitution, sexual assaults and sexual trafficking are everyday occurrences in strip clubs around the world.” Perhaps that’s true, but how will prohibiting service members from visiting cabarets eliminate the alleged sexual trafficking that takes place within? Military members are a small fraction of strip clubs’ patrons. How would such a rule be enforced overseas?

Direct the U. S. Surgeon General and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to fund research into the public health harms of pornography, and launch comprehensive efforts to abate these problems. This is not research. True scientific research adopts a premise and then attempts to prove or disprove such through empirical study. Based on “launch comprehensive efforts to abate these problems,” NCOSE apparently would prefer to dispense with the research part and jump straight to enforcement. So why waste funds on science?

It is imperative that [the Department of Justice], under the provisions of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, prosecute those who “solicit or patronize” victims of human trafficking for the purpose of commercial sex acts. Local jurisdictions already prosecute “johns.” NCOSE proposes that the DOJ use federal anti-trafficking funds to institute nationwide programs based on the model pioneered by Cook County, Illinois, Sheriff Tom Dart. Dart, an ultra-conservative, was one of the primary voices calling for revocation of the CDA’s safe-harbor provisions in the case of Backpage’s adult advertisements section.

Preserve National Security Presidential Directive-22 (NSPD-22). NSPD-22 instructs federal agencies to adopt an abolitionist approach to prostitution, pimping, pandering and brothels, even in jurisdictions where they are legal.

Immediately nominate an individual to the position of Ambassador-at-Large for Trafficking in Persons at the U. S. Department of State who is committed to combating all forms of human trafficking. Another sex czar? So much for small government.

Direct the Departments of Justice, State, and Health and Human Services, as well as USAID, to provide guidance to U.S. states and foreign governments advising against the decriminalization of prostitution and against the normalization of prostitution as “sex work.” Essentially, NCOSE encourages the U.S. federal government to stick its nose into the affairs of countries like Canada, which have legalized some forms of sex work.

Pass H.R. 611, the “Sex Trafficking Demand Reduction Act.” According to NCOSE, “if a government has the authority to prohibit the purchase of commercial sex acts, but fails to do so, it shall be deemed a failure to make serious and sustained efforts…” Here, although the source document doesn’t specifically say so, NCOSE is setting up state and local governments it believes are not doing their part of clamp down on naughtiness to lose federal funding for overall crime-prevention programs.

Pass H.R. 680 “Eliminating Pornography from Agencies Act.” Internal investigations have uncovered evidence that some employees at some agencies have watched online pornography while on duty. The act would criminalize such conduct.

Direct the Federal Communications Commission to vigorously enforce the federal indecency law, 18 U.S.C. § 1464, designed to protect children from damaging sexual content on television and appoint FCC commissioners committed to fulfilling this mission. Again, NCOSE proposes to expand the size of the federal government in its pursuit of ensuring “moral” behavior among adults. Current broadcast regulations already prohibit airing “adults-only” content during prime-time on public (free) channels. NCOSE would like to limit language and themes to those appropriate for children 12 and younger during all hours, not just prime-time, and the organization would like to do away with porn on pay-per-view altogether.

Disband the current TV Parental Guidelines Oversight Monitoring Board (TVOMB). The TVOMB is the organization responsible for determining the age-appropriateness of content and of ensuring anything that might offend or be inappropriate for some viewers is labeled. According to NCOSE, “The current TVOMB is a sham composed of broadcast television insiders, and is utterly lacking in congressional oversight and public transparency.”

To preserve the right of parents to shield their children from harmful content, Congress should update the FMA [Family Movie Act] to explicitly include streaming. This takes direct aim at online porn.

Pass S.534 “Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse Act of 2017.” This bill would require amateur athletics governing bodies to report sex-abuse allegations to local or federal law enforcement.

Speakers during the briefing included NCOSE’s Patrick Trueman and Dawn Hawkins, noted anti-porn activist Gail Dines, PhD, Gabe Deem of Reboot Nation and the Salvation Army’s Shamere McKenzie.