Sen. Ted Stevens Introduces "Son of DOPA"

DJCacophony writes "Ted 'series of tubes' Stevens has introduced a bill, going by the interim name S.49, that aims to block access to interactive websites from schools and libraries. The wording of the bill is vague enough to apply to Wikipedia, MySpace (and other social networking sites), and potentially even to blogs. The bill is apparently so similar to the failed Deleting Online Predators Act of last year that it has been termed 'Son of DOPA' by some." Stevens introduced S.49, the text of which is not yet available, on the opening day of the legislative session.

Not Online?

[pi_rules]

It's right here [gpo.gov] (PDF).

Do the Slashdot editors not know how to find stuff on Al Gore's Tubes of Internets?

Job Corps

[jrwr00]

I'm in a Government Program Called Job Corps, I'm in Comp Tech to get my A+ Cert, so i can get a good job, thing is that bill is insane! that would block our main info for computer parts, try finding (in the same place) what the 8086 was and the meaning to DDR2..... Oh well, Proxys around here are so common, i can just use those

Re:Alaska's pork should be reduced in 2007

[Anonymous Coward]

Unfortunately, I doubt we will elect a Dem in the near future. I think the majority of Alaskans love their guns and hate taxes. (There is currently no state income tax.) While there is a sizeable liberal, environmentalist population in the state, they just don't outnumber the gun-totting hunters, fishermen, oil workers, and paranoid recluses who hate the idea of big government. Too bad that they haven't figured out that Republicans now stand for that very thing.

D'Hondt / Jefferson

[Per Abrahamsen]

A better method might be the D'Hondt method (a.k.a. Jeffeson's method), I know it is used for committee seats in Denmark. It is hard to understand, rather messy, but rarely questioned, as the results are basically fair.

Re:Define an "Interactive Site"

[geoffspear]

That's ok, neither did the submitter. The phrase "interactive site" doesn't even appear in the bill.

`(J) COMMERCIAL SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITES; CHAT ROOMS- Within 120 days after the date of enactment of the Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006, the Commission shall by rule define the terms `social networking website' and `chat room' for purposes of this subsection. In determining the definition of a social networking website, the Commission shall take into consideration the extent to which a website--
`(i) is offered by a commercial entity;
`(ii) permits registered users to create an on-line profile that includes detailed personal information;
`(iii) permits registered users to create an on-line journal and share such a journal with other users;
`(iv) elicits highly-personalized information from users; and
`(v) enables communication among users.'.

Already in effect

[piGeek31415]

I'm not sure if this has been said already, but I attend a high school that blocks wikipedia, myspace, gmail, hotmail... the list goes on. Even the teachers can't access these sites. I assumed it was already standard procedure to block pages that might contain something "bad" (what's ironic, however, is the fact that we can get to nazi-propaganda sites...)

Is it me, or are our tubes a lot stricter than others'?

/first slashdot post ever

Re:Jeez...

[rifter]

Dammit Alaska, will y'all do something about that guy sometime soon?

It's not in their best interest. I mean, he's the king of pork (which means he has brought record breaking Federal dollars to the state), and he's on some important committees. He's been in Congress for a long time, has connections, and therefore Gets Things Done. Alaska has a very low population and therefore only 2 Senators and 1 Representative. But it is a very important state and there are a lot of issues which directly affect Alaska which are basically going to be decided by the government. 90% of the state is federal land, and the main economic drivers are oil and fishing. Fishing isn't doing that great and I don't think it ever brought in the kind of money the oil does. In any case both industries are heavily regulated and the land use required for both is likely to be regulated by virtue of the aforementioned fact that the majority of the land in the state is federal land (that is, parks, reserves, etc in addition to government/military installations/bases).

If they get a new dog in the race they have to start all over and go back to the unenviable position of having no say over choices that directly affect their lives and their livelihood.