Facebook 'Em, Danno

David Weigel | July 12, 2006

Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA)'s bill to regulate MySpace.com and other profile sites was beaten up in committee.

The bill, officially named the Deleting Online Predators Act, bars children from accessing social networking Web sites, such as MySpace, Friendster and Facebook, at schools and libraries that receive federal technology funding.

There's a wonderful irony in using hip wired language like "deleting" in a bill designed to block kids' access to some websites while they're at school; making the sites that much more attractive, of course, when the kids head home. Texas's Republican attorney general made fun of the bill, as did seven of the eight witnesses.

Ted Davis, director of the information technology department at Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, said the bill would "not protect students and it will place an added burden on schools."

Beth Yoke, an executive director with the American Library Association, said Fitzpatrick's bill was like trying to curb teenage car accidents by banning teens from the road. She said the bill would "block valuable technology" and "create barriers to information" that could be used for educational purposes.

Here's the punchline: the bill will probably pass anyway. The only committee members who complained about it were Democrats, and when it gets to the floor, who's going to essentially vote "yea" on TV ads portraying them as child molester-lovers?

Comments

|7.12.06 @ 1:56PM|#

How the fuck is this a national issue is beyond me.

|7.12.06 @ 2:44PM|#

Wait, does this affect university computers where some of the undergrads might be under 18? I want my facebook dammit.

Thomas Paine's Goiter|7.12.06 @ 2:46PM|#

WON'T ANYONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!

|7.12.06 @ 2:46PM|#

The bill is called DOPA? Whatever happened to naming stupid bills so their initials spell something high-sounding and equally stupid?

When did stupid congressmen get so damn lazy?

|7.12.06 @ 3:00PM|#

Pass it before November and they might be able to achieve what P. Diddy couldnt.

[In breaking news, my apostrophe key is now dysfunctional and lights up the Find bar on Firefox, but my normal " " quotes work just fine.]

The Wine Commonsewer|7.12.06 @ 3:13PM|#

Well, let's try to post this again.

My kids were approached by a pedophile at the public pool a few days ago (Hi, remember me? I was your babysitter for three years). By the logic of this bill we should bar kids from the city pool to keep them away from child molestors.

However, as long as the law doesn't affect private access to the internet I don't really care.

Better yet, let's get rid of public schools, public libraries, and the federal tech funding and the problem will resolve itself.

BTW, I don't think kids should be posting at MySpace.com at school. That isn't why we pop for ten grand a kid.

|7.12.06 @ 3:19PM|#

what are the educational purposes of whiling away hours a day creating giant ugly profiles with blaring music ambushing the unwary? Schools should block these sites without congress making a new snazzy law.

|7.12.06 @ 3:37PM|#

TWC,
You hired a child molester to babysit your kids for three years?

Damn it, Man. What wine were you imbibing at the time?

The Wine Commonsewer|7.12.06 @ 3:41PM|#

NoStar, I just splattered the monitor with cranberry juice (out my nose).

ROTFLMAO

|7.12.06 @ 3:42PM|#

This is your public school.

These are the funds that paid for your public school.

These are the strings attached to the funds that paid for your public school.

These are the politicians holding the strings attached to the funds that paid for your public school.

Any questions?

|7.12.06 @ 3:47PM|#

BTW, I don't think kids should be posting at MySpace.com at school. That isn't why we pop for ten grand a kid.

Not during class time, but if they are using a computer lab during lunch or after school, i don't see a problem. And what about libraries?

This is just silly....why don't they just mandate home schooling for all kids (esp. after the spike in teachers sleeping with studens) and no allow no children to roam without those dog-leashes for kids -- this way your kids would never have to risk being the victim of a predator

|7.12.06 @ 4:01PM|#

SHARK!

|7.12.06 @ 4:10PM|#

ChicagoTom,

Don't you think that home-schooling compounds the problem of students having sex with their teachers?

|7.12.06 @ 4:33PM|#

"...at schools and libraries that receive federal technology funding."

The only good news here is the above proof that Congress is still aware that they have no legitimate authority to regulate shit that doesn't concern them.

|7.12.06 @ 4:37PM|#

Don't you think that home-schooling compounds the problem of students having sex with their teachers?

Only in Arkansas and parts of Tennessee.

The Wine Commonsewer|7.13.06 @ 1:09AM|#

Tom, I already said that the bill is idiotic. I said that students shouldn't be posting at MySpace during school hours. I didn't say anything about libraries except that we should sell all the public ones. Or something like that.

BarryJV|7.13.06 @ 7:13AM|#

DELETE! DELETE! DELETE! DELETE!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/images/173/cyberman2006long.jpg

|7.13.06 @ 8:11AM|#

Oh come on. Have these guys no creativity left at all? Of course it should be the:

Deleting Online Predators Enactment

Larry A|7.13.06 @ 4:26PM|#

I still want to know what percentage of the children posting on MySpace are actually undercover cops.