Robin
February 17th, 2008, 7:06 pm
This is very interesting as it relates to constitutional rights and online child protection laws.
These type of laws/bills are sticky wickets:
Policy Post 14.1: Congressional Child Safety Bills Present Serious Constitutional Risks, and Some
Opportunities for Effective Action
A Briefing On Public Policy Issues Affecting Civil Liberties Online
from The Center For Democracy and Technology
1) CDT is Monitoring and Responding to an Unprecedented Number of
Legislative Proposals Aimed at Child Safety or Content Regulation
2) Many Bills Raise Serious Constitutional Concerns and/or Would
Not Be Effective in Promoting Online Safety
3) Experts Agree that Education and Enforcement of Existing Laws
Are Key to Keeping Kids Safe Online
4) CDT Urges Passage of Specific Bills Focused on Education and Law
Enforcement
1) CDT is Monitoring and Responding to an Unprecedented Number of
Legislative Proposals Aimed at Child Safety or Content Regulation
The current Congressional session has seen the introduction of an
unprecedented number of bills intended to promote online child
safety or regulation online content. In past Congresses, there
have only been a handful of serious proposals to regulate speech.
This year, in marked contrast, more than thirty different bills,
addressing the broad topic of child safety in new and online media,
have been introduced.
To monitor and keep track of all of the bills in this area, CDT
collaborated with Adam Thierer, of the Progress & Freedom
Foundation (PFF), and developed a comprehensive index that
identifies and describes the full range of these legislative
proposals.
The first version the index has been released. It is intended to
serve as a comprehensive resource for the public and the media,
describing all legislation seeking to regulate Internet
communications or online media content in order protect children.
The bills are cataloged by name, topic, chamber and agency or
organization the legislation affects. The index also contains a
summary of the proposals, the status of each bill, and links to the
bill text, as well as links to pertinent analysis by PFF and CDT
staff. The index will be updated regularly to reflect developments
and new online child safety proposals.
In addition to the joint tracking index, CDT has released its own
substantive analysis and critique of the most significant of the
child safety proposals. As detailed below, the bills raise a broad
range of serious concerns about their constitutionality and their
effectiveness. CDTâ?Ts analysis also reviews a number of positive
proposals that are likely to make a meaningful impact in promoting
online child safety.
Joint CDT/PFF Online Safety/Content Bill Tracking Index
http://www.cdt.org/speech/110thSafetyContentBillsCDT-PFF.pdf (http://www.cdt.org/speech/110thSafetyContentBillsCDT-PFF.pdf)
CDTâ?Ts Analysis of â?oChild Safety and Free Speech Issues in the
110th Congressâ?
http://www.cdt.org/speech/20080206freespeechincongress.pdf (http://www.cdt.org/speech/20080206freespeechincongress.pdf)
PFF Analysis of Safety/Content Bills
http://pff.org/issues-pubs/ps/2008/ps4.4childprotection.html (http://pff.org/issues-pubs/ps/2008/ps4.4childprotection.html)
2) Many Bills Raise Serious Constitutional Concerns and/or Would Not Be Effective in Promoting Online Safety
Many of the bills pending in Congress â?" including some that have been passed by the House of Representatives â?" would violate the Constitution, be grossly ineffective, or possibly both. CDT has urged Congress to reject these bills and proposals, including the following:
-- A federal â?oblacklistâ? of images and websites that ISPs are told to block, without any judicial proceeding to determine if the images or websites are, in fact, illegal. This proposal, found in H.R. 3791 (passed by the House), as well as S. 519 and S. 1965, would violate clear Supreme Court precedent prohibiting such government blacklists.
--A requirement that ISPs automatically disclose, to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an enormous amount of personal information, in the context of a required report, about possible child pornography. The mandated information, contained in H.R. 3791, goes beyond what the government can normally receive without judicial supervision.
Further, all of the information, including from cases that prove not to be child pornography, can be maintained by NCMEC without any privacy safeguards; NCMEC is operating as a private entity, immune from the Privacy Act and the Fourth Amendment.
--A requirement that sex offenders â?oregisterâ? their e-mail addresses so service providers can block them as users. This proposal, contained in S. 431, would be trivially easy to circumvent by a sex offender who wanted to contact a minor. The e-mail registry would be grossly ineffective at protecting kids, but would put significant burdens on many social networks, blogs and other online sites. House bill H.R. 719 is a far more focused and likely effective approach to protecting minors from sex offenders who might threaten them.
--More generally, burdens on social networking sites. A range of proposals, including the â?oDeleting Online Predators Actâ? (â?oDOPAâ?), would limit access to or otherwise burden, social networking and other sites that are becoming a vital part of how our society communicates, including how political candidates communicate with young people. CDT is one of the only organizations that are actively fighting burdens and limitations on social networking sites, both in Congress and in the states.
These and other proposals are discussed in detail in CDTâ?Ts Analysis, cited above.
3) Experts Agree that Education and Enforcement of Existing Laws Are Key to Keeping Kids Safe Online
Two expert panels, established by Congress to investigate the best ways to protect kids online, found the combination of education, filtering software and tools enabling parents to make better decisions, were most effective. CDT has long advocated for education and the broad availability of a wide range of technological and non-technological user empowerment tools. These tools include media literacy education and are more effective and less restrictive than governmental censorship or regulation.
A key value of user empowerment tools is that they work against all websites, not just those based in the U.S. These tools can be tailored to meet individual family values and adjusted to match a child's natural age progression. The value of education, in particular, is that it transcends the boundaries of the home â?" wherever a child is, he will have the ability to make smart choices for himself about what he does online.
That education and user empowerment tools are key to protecting children online, were the central conclusions of two separate expert panels looking at the issues. Both the 2000 report by the congressionally-chartered "COPA Commission," and the 2002 report by the National Academy of Sciences, entitled "Youth, Pornography
and the Internet," emphasized education as the most effective way to protect kids online.
COPA Commission report (2000)
http://www.copacommission.org/report/ (http://www.copacommission.org/report/)
National Academy of Sciences report entitled "Youth, Pornography and the Internet" (2002)
http://books.nap.edu/html/youth_internet/ (http://books.nap.edu/html/youth_internet/)
4) CDT Urges Passage of Specific Bills Focused on Education and Law Enforcement
CDT believes that Congress should promote education of children and awareness by parents of parental empowerment tools. CDT has urged Congress to fund programs to promote media literacy for both adults and children, which is the most effective way to protect
children online. Specialized non-profit groups need support for education programs, as do schools and libraries. The latter is on the front lines of teaching children how to safely and effectively benefit from the wealth of information available on the Internet.
Compared to other countries, our investment in technology and media literacy is inadequate and piecemeal in nature.
Certain proposals in Congress do directly address the need for education. H.R. 3461, introduced by Rep. Melissa Bean, D-IL, has passed the House of Representatives, and would create a new federal office to coordinate online child safety efforts and education. S. 2344, introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-NJ, would provide significant funding for child safety efforts and has been favorably reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
These, and certain other proposals in Congress, can be expected to have a real impact in the effort to protect kids online. And these bills would do so without burdening lawful speech or violating the Constitution. CDT urges Congress to act on these education-focused proposals.
--
To subscribe to CDT's Activist Network, sign up at:
http://www.cdt.org/join/ (http://www.cdt.org/join/)
Brock N. Meeks
Director of Communications
Center for Democracy and Technology
1634 Eye Street NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20006
http://www.cdt.org/ (http://www.cdt.org/)
These type of laws/bills are sticky wickets:
Policy Post 14.1: Congressional Child Safety Bills Present Serious Constitutional Risks, and Some
Opportunities for Effective Action
A Briefing On Public Policy Issues Affecting Civil Liberties Online
from The Center For Democracy and Technology
1) CDT is Monitoring and Responding to an Unprecedented Number of
Legislative Proposals Aimed at Child Safety or Content Regulation
2) Many Bills Raise Serious Constitutional Concerns and/or Would
Not Be Effective in Promoting Online Safety
3) Experts Agree that Education and Enforcement of Existing Laws
Are Key to Keeping Kids Safe Online
4) CDT Urges Passage of Specific Bills Focused on Education and Law
Enforcement
1) CDT is Monitoring and Responding to an Unprecedented Number of
Legislative Proposals Aimed at Child Safety or Content Regulation
The current Congressional session has seen the introduction of an
unprecedented number of bills intended to promote online child
safety or regulation online content. In past Congresses, there
have only been a handful of serious proposals to regulate speech.
This year, in marked contrast, more than thirty different bills,
addressing the broad topic of child safety in new and online media,
have been introduced.
To monitor and keep track of all of the bills in this area, CDT
collaborated with Adam Thierer, of the Progress & Freedom
Foundation (PFF), and developed a comprehensive index that
identifies and describes the full range of these legislative
proposals.
The first version the index has been released. It is intended to
serve as a comprehensive resource for the public and the media,
describing all legislation seeking to regulate Internet
communications or online media content in order protect children.
The bills are cataloged by name, topic, chamber and agency or
organization the legislation affects. The index also contains a
summary of the proposals, the status of each bill, and links to the
bill text, as well as links to pertinent analysis by PFF and CDT
staff. The index will be updated regularly to reflect developments
and new online child safety proposals.
In addition to the joint tracking index, CDT has released its own
substantive analysis and critique of the most significant of the
child safety proposals. As detailed below, the bills raise a broad
range of serious concerns about their constitutionality and their
effectiveness. CDTâ?Ts analysis also reviews a number of positive
proposals that are likely to make a meaningful impact in promoting
online child safety.
Joint CDT/PFF Online Safety/Content Bill Tracking Index
http://www.cdt.org/speech/110thSafetyContentBillsCDT-PFF.pdf (http://www.cdt.org/speech/110thSafetyContentBillsCDT-PFF.pdf)
CDTâ?Ts Analysis of â?oChild Safety and Free Speech Issues in the
110th Congressâ?
http://www.cdt.org/speech/20080206freespeechincongress.pdf (http://www.cdt.org/speech/20080206freespeechincongress.pdf)
PFF Analysis of Safety/Content Bills
http://pff.org/issues-pubs/ps/2008/ps4.4childprotection.html (http://pff.org/issues-pubs/ps/2008/ps4.4childprotection.html)
2) Many Bills Raise Serious Constitutional Concerns and/or Would Not Be Effective in Promoting Online Safety
Many of the bills pending in Congress â?" including some that have been passed by the House of Representatives â?" would violate the Constitution, be grossly ineffective, or possibly both. CDT has urged Congress to reject these bills and proposals, including the following:
-- A federal â?oblacklistâ? of images and websites that ISPs are told to block, without any judicial proceeding to determine if the images or websites are, in fact, illegal. This proposal, found in H.R. 3791 (passed by the House), as well as S. 519 and S. 1965, would violate clear Supreme Court precedent prohibiting such government blacklists.
--A requirement that ISPs automatically disclose, to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an enormous amount of personal information, in the context of a required report, about possible child pornography. The mandated information, contained in H.R. 3791, goes beyond what the government can normally receive without judicial supervision.
Further, all of the information, including from cases that prove not to be child pornography, can be maintained by NCMEC without any privacy safeguards; NCMEC is operating as a private entity, immune from the Privacy Act and the Fourth Amendment.
--A requirement that sex offenders â?oregisterâ? their e-mail addresses so service providers can block them as users. This proposal, contained in S. 431, would be trivially easy to circumvent by a sex offender who wanted to contact a minor. The e-mail registry would be grossly ineffective at protecting kids, but would put significant burdens on many social networks, blogs and other online sites. House bill H.R. 719 is a far more focused and likely effective approach to protecting minors from sex offenders who might threaten them.
--More generally, burdens on social networking sites. A range of proposals, including the â?oDeleting Online Predators Actâ? (â?oDOPAâ?), would limit access to or otherwise burden, social networking and other sites that are becoming a vital part of how our society communicates, including how political candidates communicate with young people. CDT is one of the only organizations that are actively fighting burdens and limitations on social networking sites, both in Congress and in the states.
These and other proposals are discussed in detail in CDTâ?Ts Analysis, cited above.
3) Experts Agree that Education and Enforcement of Existing Laws Are Key to Keeping Kids Safe Online
Two expert panels, established by Congress to investigate the best ways to protect kids online, found the combination of education, filtering software and tools enabling parents to make better decisions, were most effective. CDT has long advocated for education and the broad availability of a wide range of technological and non-technological user empowerment tools. These tools include media literacy education and are more effective and less restrictive than governmental censorship or regulation.
A key value of user empowerment tools is that they work against all websites, not just those based in the U.S. These tools can be tailored to meet individual family values and adjusted to match a child's natural age progression. The value of education, in particular, is that it transcends the boundaries of the home â?" wherever a child is, he will have the ability to make smart choices for himself about what he does online.
That education and user empowerment tools are key to protecting children online, were the central conclusions of two separate expert panels looking at the issues. Both the 2000 report by the congressionally-chartered "COPA Commission," and the 2002 report by the National Academy of Sciences, entitled "Youth, Pornography
and the Internet," emphasized education as the most effective way to protect kids online.
COPA Commission report (2000)
http://www.copacommission.org/report/ (http://www.copacommission.org/report/)
National Academy of Sciences report entitled "Youth, Pornography and the Internet" (2002)
http://books.nap.edu/html/youth_internet/ (http://books.nap.edu/html/youth_internet/)
4) CDT Urges Passage of Specific Bills Focused on Education and Law Enforcement
CDT believes that Congress should promote education of children and awareness by parents of parental empowerment tools. CDT has urged Congress to fund programs to promote media literacy for both adults and children, which is the most effective way to protect
children online. Specialized non-profit groups need support for education programs, as do schools and libraries. The latter is on the front lines of teaching children how to safely and effectively benefit from the wealth of information available on the Internet.
Compared to other countries, our investment in technology and media literacy is inadequate and piecemeal in nature.
Certain proposals in Congress do directly address the need for education. H.R. 3461, introduced by Rep. Melissa Bean, D-IL, has passed the House of Representatives, and would create a new federal office to coordinate online child safety efforts and education. S. 2344, introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-NJ, would provide significant funding for child safety efforts and has been favorably reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
These, and certain other proposals in Congress, can be expected to have a real impact in the effort to protect kids online. And these bills would do so without burdening lawful speech or violating the Constitution. CDT urges Congress to act on these education-focused proposals.
--
To subscribe to CDT's Activist Network, sign up at:
http://www.cdt.org/join/ (http://www.cdt.org/join/)
Brock N. Meeks
Director of Communications
Center for Democracy and Technology
1634 Eye Street NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20006
http://www.cdt.org/ (http://www.cdt.org/)