Keeping the Web Safe For the Kids

Kirk's:
H.R. 5319 [109th]: Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006

7/26/2006--Passed House amended.

Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require schools and libraries that receive universal service support to enforce a policy that: (1) prohibits access to a commercial social networking website or chat room unless used for an educational purpose with adult supervision; and (2) protects against access to visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors. Allows an administrator, supervisor, or other authorized person to disable such a technology protection measure during use by an adult, or by minors with adult supervision, to enable access for educational purposes.
Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to: (1) issue a consumer alert regarding use of the Internet by child predators and the potential dangers to children because of such use, including the potential dangers of commercial social networking websites and chat rooms; and (2) establish a website resource of information for parents, teachers, school administrators, and others regarding potential dangers posed by the use of the Internet by children.

Schumers:
S. 431: Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act of 2007

1/30/2007--Introduced.

Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act of 2007 or the KIDS Act of 2007 - Amends the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act to require a convicted sex offender to: (1) provide for inclusion in the National Sex Offender Registry any electronic mail address, instant message address, or other similar identifier used to communicate over the Internet; and (2) keep such information current.
Requires jurisdictions that maintain information about sex offenders to exempt from public disclosure any electronic mail address, instant message address, or other similar Internet identifier used by a sex offender.
Requires the Attorney General to maintain a
Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term: (1) of up to 10 years for failure by any sex offender to provide information required by this Act; and (2) of up to 20 years for age misrepresentation with the intent to use the Internet to engage in criminal sexual conduct with a minor. [?QUOTE]

Personally I feel a bit better about our schools and libraries working harder to safeguard children than I do about a "system to allow commercial social networking websites to compare their databases of users to the Internet identifiers of persons in the National Sex Offender Registry. Exempts such websites from civil liability if compliant with the requirements of this Act. " And if you think that S.431 doesn't effect SL you're dreaming.
________________________________

Here's my reply:

Huh.

Atashi, I see it the other way around. It looks like S.431 would address the problem with pinpoint accuracy...if a person is a known sex offender, his/her contact info gets flagged as such.

H.R 5319 is much more diffuse and open to interpretation.

The civil liberties folks will scream that measures like S.431 violate the rights of these people. I say, bring back the scarlet A. Sex offenders ought to be branded.

2/16/2007--Introduced.

Deleting Online Predators Act of 2007 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require schools and libraries that receive universal service support to enforce a policy that: (1) prohibits access to a commercial social networking website or chat room unless used for an educational purpose with adult supervision; and (2) protects against access to visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors. Allows an administrator, supervisor, or other authorized person to disable such a technology protection measure during use by an adult, or by minors with adult supervision, to enable access for educational purposes.
Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to: (1) issue a consumer alert regarding use of the Internet by child predators and the potential dangers to children because of such use, including the potential dangers of commercial social networking websites and chat rooms; and (2) establish a website resource of information for parents, teachers, school administrators, and others regarding potential dangers posed by the use of the Internet by children.

Requires the Attorney General to maintain a system to allow commercial social networking websites to compare their databases of users to the Internet identifiers of persons in the National Sex Offender Registry. Exempts such websites from civil liability if compliant with the requirements of this Act.

As much as I loathe Schumer, the legislation under discussion seems pretty clearly distinct in that the Senate bill only affects convicted sex offenders. Or am I missing the point?

That's not to say that it's actually intended to have any real positive impact. It's clearly just pandering to the hysteria, too. But it seems more circumscribed in the demons it conjures.

Exempts such websites from civil liability if compliant with the requirements of this Act.

I think what that clause is trying to do is keep the following sorts of events from happening...

"Convicted Sex Offender Sues Yahoo Over Right To Privacy"

... Let's nip part of the problem in the bud - castration for proven child molesters. That'll help get their mind off their peckers and on to more wholesome activities. Quit coddling the perverts. ....

Let's nip part of the problem in the bud - castration for proven child molesters. That'll help get their mind off their peckers and on to more wholesome activities. Quit coddling the perverts.

The problem with capital punishment is that there are always going to be a few innocent people who end up paying the ultimate price. That is why I'm opposed to it.

Better to sling offenders in a jail that's a living hell. Then, at least if they are found later to be innocent, there's something that can be salvaged. I don't believe in being soft on criminals in RL or SL, but I find the idea of an irreversible judicial error chilling.

The problem with capital punishment is that there are always going to be a few innocent people who end up paying the ultimate price. That is why I'm opposed to it.

Better to sling offenders in a jail that's a living hell. Then, at least if they are found later to be innocent, there's something that can be salvaged. I don't believe in being soft on criminals in either RL or SL, but I find the idea of an irreversible judicial error chilling.

I came to SL from Britain, which, like the rest of the EU, doesn't have capital punishment. What surprises me about the USA is that some states have the death penalty and others don't. Surely something that important should be decided on a federal level for the whole country.

This is the one place where I am most adament about the death penalty. Without their peckers, they would simply abuse kids some other way. I personally believe in absolutely no mercy at all for them. Child molesters are truly sick individuals and statistics show that they are really not capable of reform and they have the highest recidivism rate of all criminals.

And think of all the money we could save by not constantly monitoring them and trying to reform them and putting them back in prison over and over again.

I agree to a point, but there has to be evidence. None of this "recovered memory" crap, no coaching by social workers, none of this "my word against yours". There have been too many cases of over zealous prosecutors going on witch hunts that later get over turned, usually in daycare and divorce cases.

But yeah, when there is physical evidence I have no problem sending child molesters to the chair or needle how ever the case may be.

The term "Sex Offender" is too broad, especially in the scope of the federal system incorporating state laws.

In many states .. it is possible to become a registered sex offender over very simple offenses that have nothing to do with sexually molesting anyone, let alone children.

Such as ..

Public nudity, including Urinating in public.

Exotic dancers who dance too close to their customers.

Sexual contact between consenting teenagers where one is over 18 and the other under.

If the law were about convicted Child Sexual abusers and rapists .. it would be different .. but they are going to get a lot of people who never abused children or molested anyone.

-------------------------

Someone who say .. flashed her boobs while drunk one night on a college campus and got arrested .. should not be tracked by the federal government as a potential child predator.

Don't people have rights anymore?

How about these ..

Amendment 8 - Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

I agree totally. Sex offender has become much too broad. But it goes along with the trend to make everything a crime, so that anyone can pretty much be arrested at any time for something. Easier to keep a compliant population if they are all afraid of going to prison or losing every thing because they broke one of the "rules".

Yeah, lets cut the peckers off all the child molesters.......but what if that molester has no pecker? Seems Florida is full of peckerless child molesters.