California’s Social Networking Privacy Act – SB 242
Tennessee’s Relative to the Offense of Harassment – SB 487
California (SB 242) and Tennessee (SB 487) are considering new laws to regulate online activity of minors, including all those 16- and 17-year- olds who use social networking services today.
So what is so iAWFUL?
While authoritative studies have found no safety link between posting contact information online and physical harm, California’s SB 242 would make it illegal for social networking sites to display the address and phone numbers of minors.
Because of the broad definition of “social networking websites,” SB 242 applies to sites run by schools and universities, so even closed social networks, like those created by high schools to allow students, teachers, and coaches to better communicate, are affected.
This bill would create disincentives for sites to create age-appropriate restrictions on their users. It might also encourage teens to lie about their age to avoid the new restrictions on what they can share with their friends. And parents could acquire a false sense of security if they believe that state regulations have replaced the need for them to monitor what their children share online.
Tennessee’s SB 487 would regulate teenagers’ online interactions, making it illegal for minors to engage in online communications that might result in emotional harm.
This means that it would be okay for a young adult to call another “sissy” in public, but criminal if done online!
Rather than regulating teenagers’ online conduct, states should educate teenagers on how to better stay safe online and to treat each other with respect.
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September 15, 2011 at 9:03 am
[...] top threats identified in the March 2011 iAWFUL list were deflected over the summer. Efforts by California to restrict social networks in ways similar to Puerto Rico failed in two Senate votes. [...]