Earlier today we issued our full analysis of the troubling Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA), which has come to be referred to as the “MySpace Bill.”

The legislation would require schools and libraries to filter access to chat and social networking tools or lose their federal e-rate funding. Because chat and social networking are so deeply ingrained in Internet communications, the legislation could force librarians to cordon off vast amounts of valuable Internet content.

In addition to limiting functions that are deeply ingrained in thousands of legitimate, socially valuable Web sites, The Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA) would put the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the position of either ordering that all sites with chat capability be blocked, or engaging in a clearly unconstitutional process of choosing which sites to block.

As I said in our statement to press: “blogs, forums and social networking sites have emerged as essential tools for people of all ages to speak on the Internet. Blocking those functions would severely limit the value of the Internet itself for those who rely on schools and libraries for access. We urge Congress abandon this misguided, unconstitutional proposal.”

This entry was posted on Friday, August 11th, 2006 at 4:02 pm and is filed under Free Expression. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.