DOPA (Deleting Online Predators Act) passed overwhelmingly in the U.S. House of Representatives this past Wednesday. In this modern world DOPA is equivalent to outlawing the telephone because a few people use it to commit crimes.
If passed in the Senate, this law will exclude publicly accessible computers (schools, libraries, etc.) from reaching just about every modern web site on the Internet – including AOL, Amazon, and even Google.
The swift and wide vote in favor of this act shows a decidedly frightening lack of knowledge of and understanding by our Representatives about the Internet, the web, its vital role in the flow of information, and perhaps most importantly, it’s crucial role in the general literacy and participation of our citizens in society.
The Internet and its social networks are about sociology – the way people live, work, and interact today. They are today’s post office, telephone, fax machine, printing press and newspaper. DOPA’s effect is to prevent publicly accessible channels from using modern communication methods.
Please take a moment to become informed if you are not familiar with this bill. Please use your ability to access modern communications to express your opinion to your Senators about restricting our citizen’s rights to use them, our young people’s need to be literate in these communications methods, and our right to participate in our modern society through them.
