Tiffany B. Brown

a mish-mosh of stuff

Political action alert: Bill could block school/library access to social networking sites

Thanks to danah for the heads-up about a bill proposed in the House this week that would effectively block access to sites like MySpace, Yahoo!, Friendster, BlackPlanet.com, MiGente.com and Facebook from federally-funded schools and libraries.

Danah explains why this is a bad, bad, really stupid idea.

Because it affects both libraries and schools, it will dramatically increase the digital divide. Poor youth only gain access to these sites through libraries and schools. With this ban, poor youth will have no access to the cultural artifacts of their day. Furthermore, because libraries won’t be able to maintain separate 18+ and minor computers, this legislation will affect everyone who uses libraries, including adults.

Proposed by Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick. (R – Pennsylvania. Big shock.), the bill would amend the Communications Act of 1934 to force federally funded schools and libraries to ban access to ‘commercial social networking websites.’

What’s a ‘commercial social networking website,’ you ask? The bill defines it as:

a commercially operated Internet website that

  1. allows users to create web pages or profiles that provide information about themselves and are available to other users; and
  2. offers a mechanism for communication with other users, such as a forum, chat room, email, or instant messenger.

That pretty much covers the services of the major internet players, and more than a few minor ones.

Politechbot has a PDF version of the changes proposed in H.R. 5319. It should also be available on Thomas in the next week. The bill is now with the Energy and Commerce Committee.

BusinessWeek and CNET analyze the bill’s potential impact.

My $.02: Your child will more likely be molested by your skeevy Uncle Jim, or by some dude they pick up at the mall than by someone they meet online. Child sexual predators found ways to get to kids long before the Internet popped up.

Banning access at schools and libraries doesn’t stop them from getting to these sites at their home or at a friend’s home. Most kids have the sense enough to ignore or block communications from adults they don’t know, and most social software services provide tools to block messages from unwanted parties.

Please let’s not punish the many for the naivete of kids in a few high-profile cases.

I really don’t think this bill stands a chance because it cuts right to the heart of some big players in online media and social networking services. But I will still encourage you to contact members of the committee, particularly if he/she is your Congressperson to voice your opposition to this bill.

• Related: Social Networking Sites: Safety Tips for Tweens and Teens from the Federal Trade Commission.

Technorati-ism: , ,

  • http://blackhacker.net/ BH

    commercially operated Internet website that

    1. allows users to create web pages or profiles that provide information about themselves and are available to other users; and
    2. offers a mechanism for communication with other users, such as a forum, chat room, email, or instant messenger.

    He wrote bill that that bans the internet

  • http://blackhacker.net BH

    commercially operated Internet website that

    1. allows users to create web pages or profiles that provide information about themselves and are available to other users; and
    2. offers a mechanism for communication with other users, such as a forum, chat room, email, or instant messenger.

    He wrote bill that that bans the internet

  • http://bkaeg.org/blog AG

    Well losing BP is no big loss ;) However, I don’t believe that anyone will be successful in blocking online content or changing the habits of its subscribers. It’s reminiscent of the dreaded Broadcast Flag.

  • http://bkaeg.org/blog AG

    Well losing BP is no big loss ;) However, I don’t believe that anyone will be successful in blocking online content or changing the habits of its subscribers. It’s reminiscent of the dreaded Broadcast Flag.

  • http://www.tiffanybbrown.com/ tiffany

    hee hee. ag. i too wish bp would die a painful death.

    i think this bill will die a slow death because of it’s sheer impracticality. banning access to myspace in school or from a library does nothing to stop kids from reaching these sites at a friend’s house, or on their mobile phone. and it certainly doesn’t keep kids from falling victim to sexual molestation and abuse.

    i still don’t get why we attack the technology rather than the behavior.

  • http://www.tiffanybbrown.com/ tiffany

    hee hee. ag. i too wish bp would die a painful death.

    i think this bill will die a slow death because of it’s sheer impracticality. banning access to myspace in school or from a library does nothing to stop kids from reaching these sites at a friend’s house, or on their mobile phone. and it certainly doesn’t keep kids from falling victim to sexual molestation and abuse.

    i still don’t get why we attack the technology rather than the behavior.

  • http://www.rashidmuhammad.com/ Rashid Z. Muhammad

    i still don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t get why we attack the technology rather than the behavior.

    Because “I sponsored bill Y that protects your kids from Satan” sounds good on a campaign commercial.

  • http://www.rashidmuhammad.com Rashid Z. Muhammad

    i still don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t get why we attack the technology rather than the behavior.

    Because “I sponsored bill Y that protects your kids from Satan” sounds good on a campaign commercial.