US senator Dan Coats has introduced a watered-down version of the failed Communications Decency Act in an attempt to prevent minors from seeing pornography on the Web.

The original CDA would have barred all indecent and "patently offensive materials" from the Internet. In June, the US Supreme Court ruled that law unconstitutional because it was so broad it would have banned material about breast cancer, AIDS awareness and classic art such as Michelangelo's David.

The new bill is narrower: It would require operators of sites "harmful to minors" to put up barriers to prevent access by anyone 17 and under. Although most pornographic sites require payment by credit card for full access, many show "teaser" images. The new bill would abolish those. - (New York Times Service)