Comments on: Lawmakers take aim at social-networking sites

Proposed law would cordon off access to sites such as MySpace and LiveJournal from schools and libraries.

[fhowden]

Browderism pure and simple

I live in Rochester, NY, where school children can get a library card {w parental consent.] The Roch. Public Library has 56 copies of the complete works of the M. de Sade. I certainly would NOT anyone under 16 reading this stuff and even then would want to discuss it with the child. But what my child reads is MY responsibility, NOT the librarian's. The computer is in the family room where my wife and I can moniter its use. If the individual school chooses [wisely or unwisely] to block certain sites, so be it. BUT KEEP THE FEDS OUT OF IT. Congress has much too heavy a hand to deal with all these situations. Any Fed statue will have thousands of unintended consequences. Tell the Republican 'punishment queens' to sit down and shut up.
Frank Howden+

[dmm]

Browderism?

Browderism is the idea that communism and capitalism can peacefully co-exist.

I think you mean "Bowdlerism," which is a pejorative term for censorship (esp. removing sexual references and innuendoes from classic works such as Shakespeare's plays).

I think you have a point, though, about the Feds interfering in local education. While we're at it, let's get rid of the Federal telecom tax that subsidizes internet access for schools.

[jerunamuck]

Bull - Bill would support predators

The predators this bill "Claims" to protect children from require secrecy and isolation to do their brainwashing. This kind of legislation would ensure predators that teachers and librarians would NOT be looking over shoulder of children they are targeting.

Want to discourage inappropriate behavior online at your school or library? Get involved yourself! Volunteer! Encourage the agency to establish an Audit Policy where high risk traffic is brought to the attention of supervising adults in real time. Use the alert as a learning oportunity! If little jonnie is checking out a porn site he's ready to enrole in the sex ed class. If little janie's MySpace blog is has personally identifying information then teach her about online privacy and how to protect her self from predators.

The less oversight a child has while learning about life the more likely they are to be seriously harmed when they make a mistake.

[dmm]

You might possibly be right, but ...

consider the following:
1) Kids would undoubtedly object to what they would see as an invasion of their privacy;
2) The watchers might themselves be predators;
3) Your idea takes up a lot of volunteer time, which is a valuable and limited asset;
4) If parents don't watch their kids online, then it is their kids who may suffer, whereas teachers and librarians cannot possibly have the same degree of self-interest; and
5) Your idea sets up the schools/libraries for expensive lawsuits.

The bill in question is a straightforward and simple solution to the problem. Yes, filtering software doesn't always protect and sometimes hinders. But you could say that about lots of things that are intended for our protection, and often mandated by law -- bike helmets, car seats, seat belts, air bags, speed limits, speed bumps, gun licenses, drivers licenses, vaccinations, etc. There are two generally-accepted principles: 1) Go with the averages; and 2) When dealing with children or young adults, err on the side of caution.

[dondarko]

why don't we...

get a bill that will just effectively put us back in stone ages. Instead of torturing us piece by piece with bills. As for this bill I say let's block the access from public places. Kids go to school to learn not get on the net and socialize. That's what cafeteria and recess is for.

[joeyunstoppable]

why don't you...

people get a life.i've been on myspace for 2 and a half years now.i've met most of my friends from myspace.i've met over 70 people off of myspace guys and girls and had no problem what so ever. i'm 20 now and have been on since i was 18. if a young girl wants to join myspace and put up unexpectable pictures of themselves thats their fault. Tom the founder of myspace nor sexual preditors tell these girls to put pictures up like that. That's their doing, nobody elses. You are the only one who can put pictures up on your page and you decided who you go out in meet. That's why you meet people in public places or with a group of friends. There's plenty of ways to tell a fake user profile from a regular user profile, it's not rocket science people. Kids, who are on myspace should know the rules of meeting people, instead of us putting laws to strict people from it. How about congress makes laws that would actually do some good like lower the damn price of gas and not allow unneccessary war to begin. This whole fight against Myspace and other sites is ridiculous. If your kid's don't know how to socialize with the right people in society, thats not my fault or the millions of people who are on myspace that never had a problem with it just like me.

[joeyunstoppable]

why don't you...

people get a life.i've been on myspace for 2 and a half years now.i've met most of my friends from myspace.i've met over 70 people off of myspace guys and girls and had no problem what so ever. i'm 20 now and have been on since i was 18. if a young girl wants to join myspace and put up unexpectable pictures of themselves thats their fault. Tom the founder of myspace nor sexual preditors tell these girls to put pictures up like that. That's their doing, nobody elses. You are the only one who can put pictures up on your page and you decided who you go out in meet. That's why you meet people in public places or with a group of friends. There's plenty of ways to tell a fake user profile from a regular user profile, it's not rocket science people. Kids, who are on myspace should know the rules of meeting people, instead of us putting laws to strict people from it. How about congress makes laws that would actually do some good like lower the damn price of gas and not allow unneccessary war to begin. This whole fight against Myspace and other sites is ridiculous. If your kid's don't know how to socialize with the right people in society, thats not my fault or the millions of people who are on myspace that never had a problem with it just like me.

[robynxnicole]

what ever happened to parents?

This is absolutely rediculous. People feel it is right to point fingers at everyone but themselves. I've been a member on myspace for nearly three years and have been playing online games since i was 13. I'm 20 now. Never once was i threatened, stalked, scared, etc. Never was I out meeting random people from the net. The problem is the parents of today royally suck. Sorry to say it. While growing up and even now, my parents always knew and still know who, what, where, why, when and how. Call it nosy, I call it good parenting.

If people would spend more time with their children and stop focusing on the stupidy that comes with life, maybe this insanity would come to a hault. It's not myspace's fault, nor the media's fault that these types of things happen. It's the pure fact that some people are stupid and let their children run wild. Blame the parents, NOT the media.

As for banning it from public libraries and schools? I can understand schools, because school computers are supposed to be used for research. Myspace was blocked from our highschool's connection during my senior year and I didn't see anything wrong with it. But banning it from a public library is outrageous. First of all, not everyone is lucky enough to have their own home computer. Secondly it's for public use. Lets repeat that outloud - public use. Therefore the people should be allowed to check their email, myspace, chat logs, etc.

If people plan on banning that type of right to our people, we might as well ban freedom in general. But instead of worrying about minor things like this, and how to ban people from their freedoms and their spare time activities, why don't we focus more on teaching people to become better parents? Or how about helping the homeless?

That is exactly what's wrong with this country. Everyones to busy blaming everyone but themselves. And they're the problem, not anyone else.

[gerrard23]

Its about Parents not the kids

I agree with all you say. Legislation is not always the answer. Aftr all its little different to the same kids hanging around street corners and smoking underage. If parents do not take their commitment seriously then their kids will not know any boundaries. There are perfectly good alternatives to MySpace which ensure parents have control over their offspring's publications. Take SmileMiles for example. It gives all the control needed. Just wants parents to take an interest and talk to their children and point out what they can and can not do. The situation has been the same for generations. Check out www.SmileMiles.com

[does my opinon count?]

i know

its like not fair i have done all my homework and school work but pissing teachers dont let me on e buddy i only wanna chat to other school mate HEEELLLPPP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[4mericanReich]

This bill is not to protect children from predators.

Most predators aren't going to be targeting kids while they're at school or in the library. Duh. This bill is just an attempt to stop youth from colaborating on non-conformist subject matters. Congress wants kids focusing on the topics and viewpoints they're supplying the teachers to teach. If they want to monitor what kids are doing while online at these public places, then they should do just that. There are plenty of monitoring programs that are much more effective than federal prohibition. It will be just another inept law on the books.

[dfranke]

you are wrong

I sell technology to schools that captures and reproduces violations against the networks acceptable use policies. This technology analyses and records many offenses from within the network and coming into the network. Almost every seven-day evaluation I have done with a school district has generated one or more reports on preditor activity within there district. Unfortunately, a significant % of these offenses is coming from within a school district. DOPA is needed and late in coming. You should read the speech given by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales regarding child pornography and how the internet is being exploited http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/speeches/2006/ag_speech_060420.html and http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11152602/ - NBC Dateline ?To catch a predator?.

[lehmama]

Modern Salem Witch Hunt led by Congress

This legislation looks more like the "Salem Witch hunt" transferred into the digital electronic virtual age. I have personally joined some of these social networking sites and have not seen any porn and have not encountered any predators.
Have any of the concerned parents or lawmakers actually logged in to any of these social networking sites?
Can any of the concerned parent and lawmaker?s actually use a personal computer? If they actually logged in and checked these sites out, if they could actually use a personal computer, many of these unfounded hysterical fears and concerns would simply vanish and they would have a closer bond to their children: win-win.
We have many parents who remain computer illiterate. They fear what they do not understand. So they seek to control it. Rather than learning to understand the technology and the great power and strength is gives those who use it, these computer illiterate parents seek to control it in a way that looks more like censorship and an infringement upon free speech.
I wish to add that I personally take offense at these allegations since I make daily use of these technologies and I am not a predator, but a decent law abiding citizen who would be characterized as a role model career woman! Social networks enable people to make quality connections with quality people including role models with whom they might not ever encounter.
This is the future and children deprived of this technolgy and skill will have their development stunted akin to the stunting of growth that takes place in mal-nourished children. Their conputer / internet skill growth will be stunted.
These parents need to be better parents. Rather than driving their kids from one mindless activity to another and believing that by being a good chauffeur they are a good parent, they need to communicate their concerns about all predators, online and off, to their children, and then raise their children with good values. Predators are out there: online and also in the public library, in the supermarket, etc. Their child is more likely to encounter them in the real world then in the virtual world since predators want real world contact. So the only way to protect their children is to teach them well.
This act is censorship, a hysterical response to ignorance!

[myanderson]

Parent's Responsibility, NOT GOV'T!!!

Quite simply said without getting into major discussion points, Myspace.com, in respect to freedom of speech and other liberties granted to us as U.S. citizens, should not be FORCED by government legislation to restrict access or impose Age-Verification mandates. Age-Verification, only offered through third party vendors, is a fee based service, paid for by the consumer. The idea and novelty of myspace.com is that it is a FREE service. Such legislation would hurt the company's business and would inevitably burn the company to the ground. This is not a fair or appropriate action to be taken by the U.S. government against a legitimate business; it completely undermines the ideals and principles of Democracy. Myspace.com, in good will, has taken precautions and has a prominent awareness of the issues at hand. A common misconception by the public, through negative media coverage, is that the company is ignorant of the issues and is not taking the initiative to prevent predators. Further escalation is the company's perogotive, and they ARE taking initiative to deal with the issue directly. It is the ultimately the responsibility of the parents to supervise underaged children while they browse the internet. It is also the responsibility of the parents to know which sites are visited and the content such sites offer viewers. If the content is not age appropriate, the parent has the responsibility to take whatever necessary precautions to block or censor the childs exposure. In the sad and tragic event of a child falling victim to a predator, the parents are most negligable. Does one press charges against a shopping mall if a child is left unsupervised and is abducted while the parent is shopping for business casual for an important meeting at work? I would think not. And if such charges had been attempted, a judge would laugh at the prosecution. Ultimately, we are charged as adults and as parents to protect, understand, and communicate with our children. It seems like our society is trying to blame others, such as myspace.com, in order to avoid added responsibility as adults and parents. Contemporary adults are more self-absorbed than past generations. We have replaced moral value, humility, tolerance, and good parenting for vanity, deligation, ignorance, and blame displacement for the sake of self-preservation. We have become so closed minded as a society. Parents no longer take responsibility for their own children, and perhaps that is where the proposed legislation is needed!

[Ceilede]

Big Brother Is Watching You

And restricting your freedom at every turn.

[JFeffer]

Congress Folly

Typical. Congress wants to outlaw the only place guaranteed to have trained social workers monitoring kids' access to MySpace.

[Snaford]

I seem to remember something that goes like this...

"Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech..."

[does my opinon count?]

YEH

I AGREE WITH YOU IM A SCHOOL GIRL AND I DONT FEEL PROTECTED IM ANGRY AS I CANT TALK TO MY MATES ON INTERNET SITES ITS NOT LIKE IM GONNA TALK TO A PEDO ADULTS SHOULD TRUST KIDS XXX

[does my opinon count?]

HA HA HA

IM SO FRIKING BORED I WANT E BUDDY AND US KIDS WILL HAVE IT WAIT AND SEE !!!!

[Degoncire]

Nice Proposal...

Very Good idea. So if we stop access to Myspace, kids will be protected? What if they started sending letters to random addresses, would you like to ban mailing as well?

[jackbauer37]

no

myspace? the only real problem is the bad pics, so disabel pics on these sites;

it seems to me that the ban also bans email, gmail for instace, gmail in schools is a reliable storage device, u canemail a paper to ur self then go to school and retreave it;

all in all it is a stupid law and i incourage no one to vote for it, and if they pass it with out a vote then we revolt!

[commentor100]

Hello, have you heard of mypage.com? It's a nice website and free web app builder that you can use and it has social networking capabilities too!

[hckybiz]

Just another ridiculous proposed law. If the government is so concerned with the safety of our children then why don't they put together a list that links to School ID's to these registration pages and restrict access based on the Under 18 mark that this would provide to a profile and make it a requirement for anyone under the age of 18. I'm talking about some simple locked-down database only for verification of online access and nothing else. How is this any different from showing an ID for cigarettes, beer, or R-rated movies.

With the growth in Social networking sites, prevention is not the answer. Prevention is not the same thing as protection. More niche sites are going to pop up and more are going to specifically be aimed at our youth. This phenomenon is not going anywhere and the youth will find a way to do what they want no matter what laws you try and pass. Its time for a long term protection strategy, not a prevention quirk. Politicians please stop wasting your time (and taxpayer money) and work smarter! If you're not good at your job do everyone a favor and find something else.

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[Noir42]

Seriously????????????? The Republicans desperately need a candidate for something, anything, because the ones they have are complete idiots who are running out of topics to keep them alive, no matter what the cost to our civil liberties. Didn't Nikita Kruschev (sp?) say when asked about America
"leave them alone, they will destroy themselves...sic" " Obviously, he was referring to the Republican Party.