Restrictions On Social Sites Proposed In Georgia

A state senator in Georgia, Cecil Staton, has introduced a bill that would require parents' permission before kids could sign up at a social networking site such as MySpace and Facebook, and mandate that the sites let parents see all material their kids generate there. Quoting: "[Senate Bill 59] would make it illegal for the owner or operator of a social networking Web site to allow minors to create or maintain a Web page without parental permission [and require] parents or guardians to have access to their children's Web pages at all times. If owners or operators of a company failed to comply with the proposed law, they would be guilty of a misdemeanor on the first offense. A second offense would be a felony and could lead to imprisonment for between one and five years and a fine up to $50,000 or both." The recently offered MySpace parental tools fall short of the bill's requirements. This coverage from the Athens Banner-Herald quotes Facebook's CPO saying that federal law forbids the company to allow anyone but the account creator to access it..

Perfectly Noxious

[mfh]

And when the parents give their permission -- OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

Oh boy!

[Lord Bitman]

Time to receive another insincere reply from my state representative!

Re:Normally I'm on the side of civil liberties...

[mobby_6kl]

I don't think My Space a net negative. IMO it's nice for the idiots to have their own place to hang out, instead of running around molesting the real internet.

Re:Kneejerk reaction

[jumpingfred]

I don't remember the schools doing abortions. Have things changed?

Because, y'know...

[Veinor]

Porn sites technically must require proof of age, and none of THEM ever get any visits from children.

Re:It's in writing folks!

[azakem]

Pretty much reminds me of this [penny-arcade.com].

Which has no place on Slashdot

[electrosoccertux]

This story has no place on Slashdot, as

a). we don't have kids
b). if we don't have any kids, then we're certainly not married
c). social networking? What is this adjective "social" you are talking about?

I kid, I kid [sorry].

Re:Uhh... what?

[42Penguins]

And what if they're both child molestors?
The FBI should have video stations set up in each room the child is expected to be in, since many crimes happen within the home.

Re:Uhh... what?

[PopeRatzo]

Wait 'til the Georgia parents figure out that almost every one of those kids who were molested or murdered also listened to some form of pop music. A very high percentage of them also went to school, so it's time we take a look at radios and blackboard erasers as causes.

It's about time we crack down.

Re:Which has no place on Slashdot

[Achromatic1978]

c). social networking? What is this adjective "social" you are talking about?

Don't get cheeky. We know perfectly well what social networking is. Social networking sites are what /we/ build so other people than ourselves can get dates!

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Perfectly Noxious

[OnlineAlias]

"..for drive-through-vasectomy...."

Wait, don't apologize for trying to fix the problem...