Congressional Digest

Excerpt

In the late 1970s, Congress passed the first laws to combat child
pornography, which had developed into a national problem as video
recording and publishing methods became less expensive and more
accessible to the general public. Federal law made it illegal to use
minors below the age of 16 in pornographic films and photographs; in
1984, the law was expanded to include children under 18.
By
the early 1990s, trafficking in child pornography in the United States
had been greatly reduced. Law enforcement had broken up mail-based
distribution networks and cracked down on behind-the-counter sales at
adult bookstores. …