CSC 379:Week 5, Group 6

Safety and Internet Social Networks

Solutions

Limit Access in Public Places

Idea
Limit or eliminate the ability of individuals to access social networking sites in public places, such as schools or libraries, as in the Deleting Online Predator's Act of 2006

Rationale and Arguments
Proponents of this approach often cite that while the primary duty to protect and educate children falls with parents, locations such as schools and libraries are places where minors often lack parental supervision, and access to social networking sites should be limited to locations where parents can monitor the activity of their children. Schools and libraries, they further contend, are places of education, and while this approach often allows exemptions for the educational study of social networking, government-maintained computers and public institutions of education are not the appropriate place for online socialization. Also, they note that while the current availability of the Internet in libraries makes the resources of cyberspace available to all, it also provides the the questionable resource of a free, quick, simple, and wide-reaching way for adults to contact minors through social networks. Limitation of social networking sites in the public, it is argued, would at least make such access and contact somewhat more difficult, while leaving the majority of the benefits of the Internet intact.

Opponents of this approach question how much it would truly accomplish in keeping so-called "predators" at bay, as well as the true cost for such limited gains. They point out that preventing those who target children from accessing social networking sites in libraries does not prevent them from finding other ways to gain access - at home, work, or with friends. Also, while carefully limiting the behavior of children when outside of parental supervision seems a good idea in principle, a significant problem arises in attempting to legislate precisely what constitutes a "social networking site." While such sites are easily recognizable by those familiar with the technology, the current legislative definition, per the DOPA, would potentially limit access to a number of websites generally agreed to not be of a social networking nature, including Yahoo!, Slashdot, and perhaps, in the future, even Google. The implication of this fact would be to severely mitigate, if not essentially nullify entirely, the value of offering public access to the Internet in libraries at all.

Legality
This approach to promoting safety on social networking sites appears to be entirely legal, a point underwritten by the fact that there is presently an act in Congress with the aim of making this particular approach into a federal law. The only presently reasonably foreseeable challenge to the law on Constitutional grounds would be the broad but historically ineffectual assertion that the tenth amendment to the Constitution prohibits federal involvement in schools and libraries.

Require Age, Consent or Identity Verification via Credit Card

Idea
This approach to ensuring safety on social networking sites would require users to submit credit card information upon signing up for the service. This information would guarantee any of a number of data about a user, such as age, the possession of informed parental consent, or the validity of identity information displayed on the site. Variations on this approach include the use of debit cards or bank accounts in addition to credit cards.

Rationale and Arguments
The idea of requiring users of social networking sites to submit valid information is nothing new. At present, no system exists which compels users to definitively verify much if anything about themselves. Some social networking sites, such as Facebook, have preliminary checks to help ensure that a member really is from a particular area or academic institution, but for the most part these measures are easily circumvented. Proponents of requiring the entry of credit card information to sign up for social networking sites claim that this approach would provide a more effective manner of verifying identity than any measures currently in place, and would not require the establishment of any new identification system. Presentation of credit card information, they argue, would require that adults use their true names and ages when signing up for the site, and that minors have true parental consent, in order to create a social networking profile. Thus, parents would be kept more informed about their children's online behavior, and online predators would be easier to identify and monitor, screen, or eliminate from the service, as they would not be able to hide behind aliases. Additionally, potential first-time offenders would not be able to mislead minors about their identities, as names and ages of cardholders would be verifiable.

Opponents of this approach, however, adamantly insist that it would do more harm than good. As with all legislative approaches, the problem exists of legally defining precisely what constitutes a social networking site. Perhaps more importantly, current wide definitions of social networks would require a user to submit credit card information to a wealth of websites, putting him or her at risk for unauthorized transactions by unscrupulous employees or hackers, and perhaps even identity theft. Companies would also have to shoulder the burden of storing and securing databases of very sensitive information, and would most likely be liable for breaches. Further, this approach would unfairly exclude from social networks all adults who had no credit card or bank account, and all children of such adults, as well. While adults who signed up for social networking services would in theory have their identities verified, many point out that children, especially teens, are fully (if not legitimately) capable of obtaining a parent's credit card information either without informing the parent of the purpose, or entirely without consent. While this fault does ultimately reside with the parent, it nonetheless poses a significant challenge to those who claim that parental oversight of social networking activity would be achieved by means of credit card entry.

Legality
Though perhaps unwise, this policy does seem to be legal. Any institution can require the submission of credit information, if by no other means than simply charging a trivial fee for its services.

Legislation

DOPA COPPA

Ethical Considerations

Examine the ethical implications of laws that restrict use of social networking services and other internet-based software on the basis of age or criminal record (such as for sex offenders). What are the advantages of these laws and what are the trade-offs for the prospect of increased safety that these laws promise? What are some difficulties in judging the effectiveness of these laws? How does dangerous use of internet social networks by society relate to other dangerous uses of software? When may legislation be appropriate to control use of software by members of society?

Relevant External Links

• Wikipedia - Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006
• ZDNet - MySpace deletes 29,000 sex offenders
• American Library Association - Online Social Networking and Intellectual Freedom
• SafeLibraries.org - CIPA 2006 Expansion Effort to Block MySpace, Etc.
• Journal-Times - MySpace speaks about KY's new law
• Competitive Enterprise Institute - Turning MySpace into TheirSpace
• WRAL - Headline Saturday: NC Attorney General Targets MySpace.com