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That was the message delivered on Friday--which could be the politicians' last day in session before their August recess--by a handful of U.S. House Democrats, including Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Democratic Caucus leader Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.).
As technology advances and opens up new ways for predators to get to children, "you have to adapt and help parents be good parents," Emanuel said at a sparsely attended press conference in the Capitol building. That means it's necessary to pass a "comprehensive piece of legislation," he added, to deal with the perceived problem of sexual predators luring children through social-networking sites.
Conyers, for his part, said his committee plans to hold hearings beginning in September that examine "the use of the Internet to perpetrate or facilitate sex crimes." To him, that means sexual predators "infiltrating" chat rooms and social-networking sites to arrange meetings with minors for both consensual and forcible sexual encounters, as well as people who spread illegal child pornography online. He said he plans to invite Internet service providers and representatives from social-networking sites to participate.
The renewed calls for action on Friday further negate any possibility that the push for legislation designed to rein in social-networking sites last year was just a fleeting preoccupation of a Republican-controlled Congress in the lead-up to critical elections.
Numerous attempts to pass bills requiring everything from
Another related push surrounds data retention, which would have required Internet service providers to retain records about their subscribers for a certain period of time for law enforcement access. It also appears to be less of a priority this year, though
Focusing on three major efforts
On Friday, the Democrats focused their attention on three major efforts, though they suggested they're also open to considering other ideas as well.
The proposal that arguably garnered the most attention was a bill introduced by Rep. Earl Pomeroy (R-N.D.), known as the KIDS Act, which would
MySpace is an enthusiastic supporter of that bill.
The penalties for failing to comply would lie with the sex offenders, who could be fined or imprisoned for up to a decade if they fail to register their online aliases. The bill would also create a new crime, subjecting any adult to up to 20 years in prison for knowingly misrepresenting his or her age "to engage in criminal sexual conduct involving a minor, or to facilitate or attempt such conduct."
"No community is safe from the dangers posed by the Internet," said Pomeroy, who deemed his proposal, which currently has 62 co-sponsors, a "practical solution" to those perceived threats. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has sponsored
A similar version sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is pending in the Senate. Unlike
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) is also preparing to introduce a bill that attempts to raise the profile of Internet sex crimes against children within the Department of Justice, including additional funding and the setup of a new office dedicated to investigating online child exploitation. A
A spokesman for Wasserman Schultz said her version will likely be introduced sometime after the summer recess because the congresswoman first wants to line up a long list of supporters in an attempt to boost its chances for passage.
Perhaps in an effort not to be upstaged by their House colleagues, a handful of senators from both parties on Friday also
In a similar vein, the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday threw its support behind a bill called the
"It's an uphill battle for parents trying to protect their kids from viewing inappropriate programming," Pryor said in a statement. "I believe there is a whole new generation of technology that can provide an additional layer of help for these parents."
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This seems like pandering to an issue that has been raised to the level hysteria by the fear mongering likes of Nancy Grace and John Walsh.
Personally, I would NEVER forcibly rape a little girl, but were she to ask me to make love with her or I ask her and got her permission...... hell yeah, I would do it and did when I was 8-12, admittedly.
It's time to realize that with proper knowledge, children from the age of 2 and sometimes less are quite capable of consenting to sexual actions if the adults or children ask for the sexual encounters in front of others.
If they want to protect children, legalize pedosexuality, make it illegal for parents to interfere in their children's sexual lives absent a KNOWN danger to their children (the guy was convicted of forcible rape, and even then, after the laws were changed), and let children do what they NATURALLY want to do!
Personally, I was having sexual relationships with other children from when I was 3 and with adults from 7. Was I 'abused'? Hell no, because the adults and children in question always asked me first before we did anything sexual together, and if I said I didn't want to, they respected that decision.
Now, you might say "You met one of the good pedophiles!" Wasn't one. It was more like 200 of them, from late teens to forty years old.
They need to supervise their offsprings in place of allowing a machine supervise and entertain their little pain in the arce. Most of them are not the poor little innocent child that the law trys to make out. They conduct themselves like little street tramps. Just read their comments online. They propagate their problems then cry wolf if some pervert bits. Get the parents to do their job.
Your entire rant is predicated on a mistake.
Yeah, Parents do what they can to protect and shield their kids.
The problem is, if a kid is going to do something, no force in the world short of death will stop them.
Also, explain to me how a parent is going to monitor -every- -little- -move- their kids make ?
It's easy to say "They need to supervise their offsprings in place of allowing a machine supervise and entertain their little pain in the arce", but you don't bother to say -how- they should go about it. So where is your solution ?
Are parents to learn how to function without sleeping ? force their kids to wear a camera every time they leave the house OR leave their parents sight (even in the house)?
Should a kids time on the net be limited ? yes
but you still have to be reasonable and to paint ALL kids with the same broad strokes that you've used is patently unfair.
On top of which, this still doesn't mitigate -our- responsibility as law abiding adult net users.
Yeah, I've seen quite a bit of what you speak of, and yes it's shameful, but that doesn't mean these scumbags should have Carte Blanche to prey upon these stupid little girls.
And the fact that your words do more to defend the pedophiles than those who would stop them, disturbs me greatly.
When we see these little girls doing this kind of crap, it's up to us to report it and help put a crimp in what pedophiles use to hunt down their targets.
You strike me as one who, while having no kids of your own, feels qualified in telling parents how to raise them in spite of any real experience of your own. (before you get your tail in a knot and deny this I say: proof or your words are false).
So until you have kids of your own, leave the pontificating to one more experienced.
They are attempting to force all of us to watch and report on the activities of our neighbors -- terrorists, drug dealers, pedophiles, and God knows who else. This continues to divide our communities, pits neighbor against neighbor, and provides neighborhoods in which criminals are free to conduct their business.
The more we suspect our neighbors, as our government encourages us to do, the more our communities are divided. You want me to keep records so you can prosecute? What kind of logic is that?
For that matter, do you honestly think that you're exempt from helping to protect kids online ?
Sorry man, we are just as responsible for helping to put an end to child predation as the cops are,perhaps more so.
Our relative anonymity online does not mean we can turn a blind eye to someone doing that which endangers us all.
Unless -you- live in New York, then I'm not surprised by your comments, not helping out or getting involved seems to be the law of the land there.
And just so you know, part of what helps Law enforcement out is citizens willing to provide much needed info to help combat crimes of this nature.
But I guess you don't understand that, do you?
None of the proposals are going to work - and the Democrats (and CNet) know it - it's just a ruse to try to make them look "tough".
This is just the same old crap... politics and, ever-expanding "Government databases". It wont stop anything... But it will, undoubtedly, aid political-careers and continue the obscene expansion Government-power.
Meanwhile...
...the American people still overwhelmingly oppose the "War in Iraq"... But, the Congress, specifically elected to put a stop to it, is completely incapable of actually standing-up to the President.
...Big-Business continues to get everything it wants... no matter who gets hurt.
...The oil-companies continue to make the highest-profits, of any corporations in American history... and, all the while, we keep paying the highest prices for gasoline in our history.
...bridges, that have been known to be unsafe for years, are falling-down... literally killing people.
...Federal, political and business, criminals are still completely unpunished and apparently, really are, entirely above the law.
...Americans pay the highest prices for healthcare, in the world, and yet... we are NOT in the top five... top-ten... or, even, the top-15... for actual quality of medical-care (we are actually somewhere around 28th).
...And, the desiccating-carcass of the United States Constitution, continues to be sh*t upon... almost daily.
...Our emails are read... our phones are tapped... alleged mere-suspects are tortured... virtually everything we do is video-taped... the police can detain, demand-ID, search, and record, everything we do... just in case.
But, at least, we keep getting to hear the phrase: "...give law-enforcement the tools they, so desperately, need"..? In fact, its uttered so often, these days, I think that its should simply be tattooed on everyones foreheads... lest we ever forget, our, "priorities" as "free-Americans".
Frankly, were pedosexuality and making love with children legal..... we would have none of the child rapes and murders that are going on right now, or even less of a number than we have right now (200 a year in the whole US!).
Had the Framers foreseen this, they would certainly have added an amendment against it.
Now, while I do support the war in Iraq, I completely agree with everything you have posted. Every year, there is just another political cry that our hands are tied and "the bad people" are out to get you or your children.
Hey, all the government needs to do is classify child predators as WMDs and they already have all the authority to record and track everything everyone does "just in case".
Where will this all end. Don't you wish we had a reboot option with government and big business where we could just wipe everything clean and start fresh.
If they passed at law to stop the ACTUAL problem rather than just the perceived problem... it would be much better, but they're only interested in going after the perceived problem.
Walt
Personally, I loved being 'sexually abused' and if a cop came up to me and told me "You were 'victimized'!"..... he would and has gotten a five finger fist salute to the face!
There is no such thing as child sexual 'abuse', no such thing as 'statutory rape', period and done with!
I think the children who are victimized by the courts and who have problems ranging from MPD (I haven't seen ONE non-court related case of MPD in a person who was 'sexually abused' ever, and I work for a lawyer who specializes in child sexual abuse cases) to extreme depression to physical wounds from overzealous parents who beat their children when they refuse to report the person in question to the police for 'abusing' them.
I saw that a lot as a social worker before I was a paralegal, and I absolutely REFUSED to file a case report if I saw any bruises or injuries on the child that the child admitted to me were caused by their parents.
I had the support of the entire agency in that as well.
Maintaining a government database of RSOs email and Internet identifiers, to block individuals from engaging in free speech, when only 10% of RSOs are the problem, is not a "practical solution" to the predator problem.
Be wary any time a Congressman says, "comprehensive piece of legislation". Not gaining ground with the individual bills, look for these proposals to be combined to the extent voting againt the measure would be seen as voting against child safety. Last years elections only changed the arrangement of the chairs.
- Total Madness
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by perfectblue97
August 5, 2007 10:19 AM PDT
- This is total madness and its main effect will simply be to give neo-cons one more way to panic us into falsely believing that we're all in danger, when we are not.
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See all 23 Comments >>Internet predators could be stopped in their tracks by a single well executed education campaign giving parents and children meaningful advice on how to stay safe online. Unfortunately we simply have more and more poorly thought out schemes and scare stories.