Bill in Congress - S-1047

5-26-2009 National:

`School And Family Education about the Internet Act of 2009' or the `SAFE Internet Act'

Sponsor: Sen Menendez, Robert [NJ]
Introduced 5/14/2009 Bill: S-1047

Se. Mendendez's Press Release on this bill: "KEEPING CHILDREN AND TEENS SAFE ONLINE: SEN. MENENDEZ, REP. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ PROPOSE NATIONAL GRANT PROGRAM FOR INTERNET AND WIRELESS SAFETY EDUCATION," and this news article: Internet-safety bill takes aim at sexting Press releases are the hype, the bill tells us the truth!

The STATED intent of the bill is: A bill to promote Internet safety education and cybercrime prevention initiatives, and for other purposes. .

My Summary:
In essence this bill provides grants to various state or local educational agencies, or nonprofit organizations, or a consortium of elementary schools or secondary schools for the purpose of developing "Internet Safety Education Programs." Grants are prioritized to agencies that work with community based groups or social service organizations and a few others. My only concern is that all of these folks may not have the "Internet expertise" necessary given technology advancing as quickly as it is. The ultimate Internet Safety program needs to be based on more than sound-bites. Other than those concerns there are three "Findings" that are important to discuss. see below.


My Analysis:

Important Findings to Highlight:

(8) In a national poll on children's health, parents ranked Internet safety fifth among their top health concerns for children. Educating parents about Internet safety is key to empowering them to understand actual risks and to take an active role in protecting their children.

(9) The problem of online harassment or cyberbullying of youth by other youths is widespread, and results in a range of children's experiences from minor irritation to severe emotional harm. The Bureau of Justice Statistics has found that online harassment tends to begin in third and fourth grade, peaks in seventh and eighth grade, and continues in reduced amounts throughout high school, college, and professional schools.

(10) Young people face greater risks in the form of electronic aggression and sexual solicitation from other young people known to them than from strangers.

(11) Gang members increasingly are using the Internet as a recruitment tool to entice would-be members and as an intimidation tool to threaten rival gangs. Gang members use the Internet in particular to promote their message.

(12) More research is needed in several areas of youth online safety, including--

(A) minor-to-minor solicitation to use the Internet in an inappropriate manner;

(B) the creation of problematic content by youths;

(C) lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth and youth with disabilities who may be particularly vulnerable;

(D) the interplay between socioeconomic class and risk factors;

(E) the role that pervasive digital image and video capture devices play in harassment of youth by other youth and youth production of problematic content;

(F) the intersection of different mobile and Internet-based technologies; and

(G) the online activities of registered sex offenders.

In each of the highlighted portions, excepting the very last one, the discussion is about "youth interacting with youth," then he throws in "registered sex offenders." While I cannot say why he does that, it appears he is implying that registered sex offenders are likely the cause of online sex crimes involving youth. If that is his intent then he has not analyzed the facts of online sex crimes. Such crimes very rarely involve a RSO, instead, someone who has never before been convicted of a sex offense.

In Menendez's Press release he mentions "Cynthia Logan, whose daughter took her own life after "sexting" incident," but fails to mention another incident just as important. The case of Lori Drew who -under a false persona- used the Internet to bully a neighbor girl ( Megan Meier ) into committing suicide. Suicides and people who prey under false persona's need to be addressed as well.


I would SUPPORT this bill with my above concerns. Contact lawmaker, with your views, by clicking on his/her name above, as well as your own folks in Congress.

Folks can contact the Committee Members working on this bill, by simply clicking on the bill number above, going to the "Congressional Actions" section and find the name of the committee. Once you have the committee name, contact the correct committee here: House Committees or Senate Committees

Thanks,
eAdvocate

Note: To see all bills concerning sex offenders or their families currently in Congress simply click here. At the present time I do not review sex offender bills concerning Immigration or Appropriations, they get very involved and are time consuming.

Note: Full bill text WILL NOT be included in this blog because as time goes on bills are amended by Congressional Committees and also on the floor of either house, and it is too easy to confuse folks who may not realize that. Further, links to the bill in Congress will be provided so folks can always see the latest version of the bill.