John McCain's Latest Folly
Sen. John McCain doesn't know how to quit while he is ahead. He has just introduced a really dumb bill that ought to have those with interactive websites up in arms.
Millions of commercial Web sites and personal blogs would be required to report illegal images or videos posted by their users or pay fines of up to $300,000, if a new proposal in the U.S. Senate came into law.
The legislation, drafted by Sen. John McCain and obtained by CNET News.com, would also require Web sites that offer user profiles to delete pages posted by sex offenders.
Current law already mandates reporting by internet service providers. This legislation would extend the requirement to others, including bloggers.
McCain's proposal, called the "Stop the Online Exploitation of Our Children Act" (click for PDF), requires that reports be submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which in turn will forward them to the relevant police agency.
Internet service providers already must follow those reporting requirements. But McCain's proposal is liable to be controversial because it levies the same regulatory scheme--and even stiffer penalties--on even individual bloggers who offer discussion areas on their Web sites.
Is there nothing these politicians won't pander to using the public's fear of sex offenders?
[hat tip Patriot Daily.]
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