As technology is evolving, the internet has become a source for sex offenders to find their next victim. As a result, new laws are being implemented throughout the United States toward social networking sites to help reduce online sex crimes.
In Baton Rouge, Louisiana a new law was implemented that would not allow any sex offenders from accessing any social networking sites. These include popular social networking sites Myspace and Facebook. This law was created to ban sex offenders who target children using these sites.
Many are questioning whether this new law is constitutional, because it may violates the First Amendment. While others question if the law is to broad, because it would apply to any site that visitors could leave comments. This could be news sites which have nothing to do with personal communications. It says “social networking websites” are off limits, and defines those as “an Internet website containing profile pages of the members of the website that include the names or nicknames of such members,” or photographs, or any other personal information. Offenders must “refrain from accessing or using” such Web sites. Some sites that fall into that category are sites such as Google, Amazon, Yahoo and Cnet.
Just curious how do they monitor the offenders from accessing these sites? Some of the sites that you listed as being on the blocked list for the offenders are sometimes vital in the workplace. I wonder if they are lifted for the offenders work purpose.
ReplyDeleteThought you might find this article interesting, maybe even enough to write about. It's pretty terrible.
ReplyDeletehttp://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/10/8733401-investigating-britains-sex-gangs
This is an interesting topic. I'm curious about how this will be monitored also. Also, the First Amendment right issue because Facebook and Myspace are public sites. Keep us updated on what happens.
ReplyDeletethis is true. sex offenders can use the internet to find under aged children. they use fake ages on social internet networks and talk to them. law enforcement agecies are now doing the same to arrest sex offenders.
ReplyDeleteDoes the law give officials access to the offenders computers? That would be a great way of monitoring their activity. Social networking cites often require little to no real information about a person in order to join, giving sex offenders the ability to create pseudonyms with fake ages and thus prey upon young girls and boys. Perhaps a system could be installed to monitor and flag only prohibited cites, as to not completely intrude on these offenders lives.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand some sex offenders are not allowed computer access at all as part of their terms.It would be easy to monitor them if they access the sites from home, but if they go somewhere else to use a computer that may get complicated.
ReplyDelete