Senator Ted Stevens proposes new anti-child exploitation law

Senator Ted Stevens, well-known for his infamous Internet is made of tubes remark, has resurrected the failed Deleting Online Predators Act. Senate Bill 49 is called Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act and contains many of the same provisions as DOPA. Under the bill, many social networking sites could be banned from schools and libraries.

The first part of the bill would prevent sexually explicit websites from displaying offensive content on the first page. It would also mandate warnings on every page afterwards. Password-protected webpages would be exempt from this requirement.

The second part of the bill is quite similar to DOPA and initially looks like a cut and paste job. It would ban social networking sites from schools and libraries. The bill would also force the FTC to issue a consumer warning and establish a website about social networking sites.

It’s unclear how much of an impact the bill would have as only federally-funded schools and libraries would be affected by this ban. Many schools are privately funded and libraries often receive money only from local sources.

Representative Mike Fitzpatrick submitted the Deleting Online Predators Act last year. It overwhelmingly passed the House, but died in the Senate. Fitzpatrick lost his re-election bid later in the year. Critics have decried DOPA and the current bill as overly-broad.

You can view the full text of the bill in a PDF Share: