Finally people are starting to wake up and see the threat of DOPA
The preoccupation of US
Government for the safety and protection of children is understandable.
But when it spreads in areas that are helpful for education, we might
have a problem.
The US authorities have ruled that any federal
institution which receives money from the E-rate scheme for computers
and internet access must install on their networks filters against the
free access to social sites and blogs. This means that minors will be
allowed to enter this type of sites only under adult supervision.
The
measure, included in Deleting Online Predators Act, is aimed at
minimizing the pedophiles’ easiness to reach the under aged, on popular
sites like MySpace.
The DOPA has gathered the positive votes of
more than 400 members of the House of Representatives (410 to be
accurate) at the end of last month, and only 15 members voted against.
"The
social networking sites have become, in a sense, a happy hunting ground
for child predators," US House Representative Michael Fitzpatrick is
reported to have said.
The initiative of the US authorities has
already attracted the opposition of many MySpace and other social sites
users, who claim that the ruling hinders a lot of students from
accessing useful information and exchanging opinions and ideas.
More
and more MySpace users have begun signing a petition called “Save your
space” which targets the recently adopted amendment. The campaign hopes
to raise more than 1 million adherents in less than a month.
