Here we go again...

[owlmoose]

Remember the idiotic and over-sweeping attempt to force schools and public libraries to block social networking sites? That bill died in the Senate, but now the state of Illinois is looking at an even broader prohibition. All schools and public libraries would be required to block all social networking sites on *all* their computers, not just the ones that children are using.

What's a social network site? The bill doesn't say. And that's part of the problem.

But wait! Another Illinois state legislator introduced a rival bill that proposes programs to educate students about Internet safety and security. What, you mean we should teach kids how to use a powerful tool that carries some risks rather than banning them from it's use entirely? What a novel idea.

Let us hope that, in Illinois, sanity will prevail.

Comments

[dagas-isa.livejournal.com]

I know I sound like a dimwit to ask this, but is there anything that I can do as a resident of Illinois? This sounds like a major screw up waiting to happen.

But sanity? In Illinois? I'm not sure it exists.

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

The quick and easy thing is to contact your own state representative and urge them to support the good bill and not to support the bad one, and then ask your friends to do the same. The bill numbers are referenced in the two blog posts I linked to. You can also contact the authors of both bills to let them know what you think, but I'd bet that contacting your own representative, who presumably cares about your vote, is probably your most effective outlet. You might also drop an email to the governor; might be a little premature, but it's good for him(?) to know that the issue is on his constituants' radar.

Thanks for asking! I hope it works out.