Andy Carvin has generated a very complete analysis of the new version of DOPA. Included in his post is a link to the text of the proposed bill as included in the Congressional Record. One frustrating change in the new bill is that it mashes together a variety of topics some of which would generate nearly universal support and others (e.g., objection to many commercial social networking tools) that in my opinion are questionable. I guess this is the way politicians like to play the game. Just for the record – I am against child pornography and predators of any type. I am also opposed to this bill because it lacks the sophistication to differentiate criminal behavior from constructive educational practices.
Andy’s post summarizes the description of social networking sites as a site that:
- is offered by a commercial entity;
- permits registered users to create an on-line profile that includes detailed personal information;
- permits registered users to create an on-line journal and share such a journal with other users;
- elicits highly-personalized information from users; and
- enables communication among users.
Just for the record:
- I am using my own software and server to offer this blog so it is not commercial. Many teachers would not have the opportunity or skill to create a blog of this type and under this bill would not be allowed to offer the content because they would be prevented from using convenient and free commercial blogging sites.
- If anyone wants to go to the trouble, they can contribute to this blog by commenting on my posts. They would need to share some information before I would let them do this (I regard this commitment on their part as a security requirement). I could also allow others to generate original posts, but I do not. I would encourage them to create their own blog and we can link back and forth.
- I would hope this blog enables communication among users.
- I am not certain what eliciting highly-personal information means – is this one of those you know it when you see it standards?
It is true that the bill stipulates that school personal can use social software in situations that they supervise. I have previously explained that most teachers are not in a position to turn filters on and off at will. I would also suggest that the beauty of social software is that it reaches beyond school walls to involve others at other times and from other locations.
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