The internet is buzzing this morning that Senator Ted "'Not a Big Truck" Stevens introduced a bill (S. 49) called the ' Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act' that would ban Wikipedia from schools and libraries. Nearly everyone from Slashdot to John
Battelle is reblogging a post from Computer World's Preston Galla, who claims, without linking to the bill, the Senator wants to banish Wikipedia.
Contrary to Slashdot's blurb that the bill isn't yet available, the bill text is rather easy to find and while the width of the proposed bill's impact is hard to know since it leaves much of the definitions up to the Federal Trade Commission, it's pretty easy to see that the blog world is just plain wrong.
One thing is clear – the bill targets COMMERCIAL social networking sites. Wikipedia, while it has some 'social networking' aspects (user profiles, discussion rooms, etc.), isn't commercial. The bill would prohibit schools or libraries that get federal funds from allowing children to access commercial social networking sites or chat rooms (and is written broadly enough that it could include sites like Digg, Reddit and some blogs if they let people who use the sites provide contact info like an email that lets other users contact them). It also directs the FTC to send out a warning to parents about how dangerous social networks are.
There's plenty to inspire real concern, but why bother with that when you can just repeat other people's unfounded accusations, MSM-style?
I would, however, like to see the offline world version of bills like this one and last year's Deleting Online Predators Act. That bill would include a ban on dojos, Catholic youth groups and choir boy programs, the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs and athletic teams. I, for one, can't imagine what legislator loves child predators enough to vote against that bill.
Also the blog world famously claims it's self-correcting. 27B anxiously awaits proof.
Photo: Wilderdom
