Disturbing news from Washington today…
By a 410-15 vote on Thursday July 27, the House of Representatives has passed the DOPA (Delete Online Predators Act), an extension of the Communications Act. This bill seeks to cut the use of social networks in schools and libraries in order to stop online predators. However, the phrasing of the bill is such that any commercial website that provides blogs, user profiles, chat or other online discussion is included! This potentially means that not only MySpace but Blogger, LiveJournal, the Wikipedia, 1up.com and thousands of other commercial websites with bulletin boards or user accounts will be blocked by schools and libraries lest they risk the loss of Federal E-Rate Funding.
Great article by Declan McCCullagh here, discussing the politics that got this bill passed, as well as its ramifications.
Tags: DOPA, e-rate, Social Network
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Comments • [comment feed]
Well, it is up for the FCC to define what sites this bill affects.
I suppose the anti-net neutrality legislation crowd could hold his up as an example of why legislation involving the internet, no matter how well intentioned, ends in disaster.
From my point of view, I see this bill and the anti-net neutrality position as two prongs of the dismissal/ignorance of/attack on participatory culture.