October 2, 2006
Private: The Deleting Online Predators Act
by Alexander Wolfe, Editor at Large
Recently, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5319, the "Deleting Online Predators Act." The bill has been promoted as a response to fears that sexual predators are utilizing social networking sites such as Myspace or Facebook to contact minors online, and it would curtail access to such sites by any schools or libraries that receive E-rate funding under the Universal Service Fund, a program managed by the FCC to promote internet access across the nation. The bill would essentially prevent minors from accessing social networking websites or chat rooms without adult supervision in over eighty-percent of libraries and over fifty-percent of schools throughout the nation that utilize the E-rate program.
Proponents of the bill see it as an important measure in combating the presence of sexual predators online, and preventing children from accessing websites where they may be vulnerable to sexual solicitation from adults. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA) cited a study that purported to show that almost 1 in 5 children had received an unwanted sexual solicitation online in the previous year, and he has argued against the potential dangers of such solicitations occurring when children access websites without parental supervision, such as in a library or at school. Proponents have also cited recent incidents in the news, wherein a minor was solicited online, or an adult has arranged to meet a minor in person after meeting them online via websites like Myspace.
Opponents of the bill have attacked it as being unnecessary. Critics have argued the problem of sexual solicitation of minors by adults online is overblown, arguing that the figures in the study cited by Rep. Fitzpatrick have been misinterpreted, in that they include sexual solicitations made by teenagers to other teenagers, and that evidence of any such problem is largely anecdotal. Others have pointed out that none of the incidents in which an adult solicited a minor through a networking site like Myspace are linked to use of library or school computer.
Opponents have also argued that the bill is overbroad and that the unintended consequences of the bill outweigh any protection it might provide to minors. The American Library Association argues that libraries are already required to block content that is harmful to minors under the Children's Internet Protection Act, and that the bill will hinder the ability of minors to access "a wide array of essential internet applications." Others argue that the bill would prevent legitimate use of networking sites for educational purposes or in the classroom setting. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Ma) takes issue with the regulatory use of the E-rate program, a program designed to increase internet access, as a means to restrict what content minors may view in the school or library setting.
The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in July of this year, and as of yet no further action has been taken on it.