| Washington, DC: Today the U.S. House passed H.R. 5319, the Deleting Online Predators Act. The measure aims to protect kids from online child predators.
"The explosive growth of internet chat rooms and social networking sites poses risks for our children," said Marchant. "The facts are frightening: according to the Department of Justice, approximately one in five kids is sexually solicited online."
The Deleting Online Predators Act requires schools that receive Federal universal service funding to prevent children to access chat rooms or social networking sites. It calls for libraries that receive Federal universal service funding to prevent the access of children without parental authorization to a chat room or social networking website.
The bill also requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create a website and issue consumer alerts to inform parents, teachers, and school officials about potential dangers on the Internet, specifically online predators.
"We want to empower parents to become involved in monitoring their child's online activities, at school and at home." Marchant added.
"In this new age of technology, it is important to deal with threats as they emerge. This measure helps protect our children from explicit and potentially dangerous material online."
CONTACT:
Annie Christian
(202) 225-6605
annie.christian@mail.house.gov |
