3 years ago
(Gannett) ? Congressman Tom Reynolds met with some law enforcement and public library officials in the Rochester-area an outlined federal efforts to protect children from online sexual predators.
At a news conference, Reynolds discussed the Deleting Online Predators Act of 2007, a bill that he co-sponsored and is currently being reviewed by the House of Representatives.
The bill proposes to give public schools and libraries federal funding to block children?s access to social networking Web sites such as MySpace.com or chat rooms unless they have a parent?s permission or are under direct adult supervision, said Reynolds, R-Clarence. The proposed legislation would also create a Web site to inform parents, educators and students about the potential dangers of social networking sites and chat rooms; and would require the Federal Trade Commission to issue consumer alerts online regarding Web sites that are considered dangerous or have suspicious activity, he said.
?This is about protecting our children from a 21st century danger,? Reynolds said. ?In today?s world, parents are faced with the challenge of making sure their kids are safe and protected from inappropriate and insidious online content. But they cannot watch their kids 24 hours a day. Parents need to know that their schools and libraries are protected.?
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, one in five children are approached by an online predator and only 25 percent of those children tell their parents about the situation.
Approximately 50,000 sexual predators are online at any given time, and many of them often utilize social networking sites, according to data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
?We really want to limit access of dangerous sites for children,? Reynolds said. If the proposed legislation is approved, he said it should minimize the potential for children to be involuntarily approached by online predators.
Gannett
