DOPA limits free speech

Recently there has been new legislation introduced in congress what would ban minors from accessing social networking sites. The bill, known as the Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006 was introduced by Michael G. Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

The bill uses broad language to define a social networking site as one that: “allows users to create web pages or profiles that provide information about themselves and are available to other users; and offers a mechanism for communication with other users, such as a forum, chat room, email, or instant messenger.”

This language is so broad, that many websites would fit into their definition, possibly even this blog. Blogger, slashdot, even Gmail might all be banned under this description.

What this bill does is effectively limit minor’s abilities to speak freely on the Internet.

While I’m against predators from using the Internet to find minors, I don’t think banning minors from using certain Internet technologies is the right way to solve the problem. The bill encroaches on parental responsibilities to encourage their teens to be safe online.

Sure it may be unsafe to post personal information online, just as it may be unsafe to cross the street–you may be hit by a car! Does that mean we need a law that bans minors from crossing the street?

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