Senators call for filtering of the internet
Yesterday two US Senators called for the implementation of a method of filtering technologies to protect children on the internet. This was discussed in a Senate hearing where civil liberties groups were not invited.
Daniel Inouye, a Democrat from Hawaii and Ted Stevens, Repbulican from Alaska both called for ways to set up technologies to filter out illegal materials for the sake of children. They said that the internet is a dangerous place and that parents cannot protect children by themselves.
Senator Inyoue said, “While filtering and monitoring technologies help parents to screen out offensive content and to monitor their child’s online activities, the use of these technologies is far from universal and may not be fool-proof in keeping kids away from adult material. In that context, we must evaluate our current efforts to combat child pornography and consider what further measures may be needed to stop the spread of such illegal material over high-speed broadband connections.”
Ted Stevens of the Internet is a series of tubes fame followed up with, “Given the increasingly important role of the Internet in education and commerce, it differs from other media like TV and cable because parents cannot prevent their children from using the Internet altogether. The headlines continue to tell us of children who are victimized online. While the issues are difficult, I believe Congress has an important role to play to ensure that the protections available in other parts of our society find their way to the Internet.”
The FCC was called to find ways to identify ways that industry can filter out child pornography to help parents protect their kids. This may also include monitoring software as well.
Usually the way any law works is that lawmakers say, “We’re doing it for the kids”. Shortly thereafter the is call to do this for criminals, so the kids are safe. After that it gets imposed on everyone. Why are people making these types of statements when (in Stevens case) they really don’t know what the hell the internet is, let alone make laws about it. There are ways to protect your kids while online already in place. You just need to be a savvy enough parent to protect your kids. If you’re not, just pull the plug on the computer.