Congress to Libraries and Schools: Block Myspace

There are lots of parents that have become aware of the dangers of online predators and other parents that do not want their children posting anything on MySpace and LiveJournal and other social networking sites. They have taken steps at home to block the site, whether by supervision, password protection, filtering software and more. But some children vow to access the pages from the library or from school.

Congress is stepping in to put a stop to it. From CNET here:

Congress targets social network sites
By Declan McCullagh
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Now MySpace and other social-networking sites like LiveJournal.com and Facebook are facing a new threat: a proposed federal law that would effectively require most schools and libraries to render those Web sites inaccessible to minors, an age group that includes some of the category’s most ardent users.

“When children leave the home and go to school or the public library and have access to social-networking sites, we have reason to be concerned,” Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican, told CNET News.com in an interview.

Fitzpatrick and fellow Republicans, including House Speaker Dennis Hastert, on Wednesday endorsed new legislation that would cordon off access to commercial Web sites that let users create public “Web pages or profiles” and also offer a discussion board, chat room, or e-mail service.

There are lots of people that like to scream that Internet usage is a right, and will claim that this move amounts to censorship. I disagree. Internet usage is NOT a right. If you pay, you can play on the Internet, but only at home. But if you are at work, school, or the library, you have to abide by acceptible usage for those environments. It is entirely appropriate for places that accept federal funding to have to abide by Congressional restrictions for Internet usage.