Patrick's Response To Fitzy

As far as I’m concerned, Patrick Murphy showed true leadership in this Guest Opinion that appeared in today’s Bucks County Courier Times.

Our children need Congress’s help. As Internet use grows, so does the vulnerability of kids to predators and pedophiles. This isn’t an issue for Republicans or Democrats – this is a bipartisan issue in need of a bipartisan solution. Our children need real leadership and real action – not rhetoric and election-year gimmicks. That’s why I’m proposing the Murphy Plan for Online Protection, a real plan with real solutions to a serious problem.

As a former prosecutor, I understand what law enforcement needs to get the job done. As the Internet grows, we need to provide law enforcement with the tools necessary to catch and prosecute these horrible criminals. If I were elected to Congress, I would dramatically increase funding and resources for local law enforcement to work with groups that catch online predators and put them behind bars. We don’t just need warnings anymore – we need action.

Second, I would require that site-blocking software be prominently displayed and freely downloadable on all sites where predators might attempt to lure our children. This would help all parents protect their kids at home, where most children access the Internet. We need to make sure every child is protected – not just the ones using computers at school and in the library.

Finally, I would make it illegal for any person convicted of using a computer to commit a sex crime to access the Internet, so we could send them straight back to jail – much the way we currently do with convicted hackers. If we get tough with predators on both ends of the Internet, our children will be better protected.

Now as many of you know, Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick has introduced a bill called “The Deleting Online Predators Act.” Here is what you probably don’t know: “The problem with DOPA is that it may do little to actually ensure safety,” and that it may actually “make our children less safe.” Those are the words of Ann Collier, co-founder of BlogSafety.com and Ann Davis, an instruction technology specialist at Georgia State University.

It seems our congressman is involved in the typical Washington game of putting out nice sounding legislation that could make the problem worse, not better, and leaves the dangerous impression that he’s actually doing something to protect children. But it’s time to change the way we do business in Washington, D.C.

Let me be clear. The most important job of any government is to protect its citizens, and especially our children.

Fitzpatrick’s bill makes two suggestions: create another web site advising parents of danger and partially block children’s access in schools and libraries. This won’t get the job done.

First, web sites like Fitzpatrick proposes currently exist. For example, you can check out the Federal Telecommunications Commission’s web site at www.ftc.gov and read either “Social Networking Sites: A Parent’s Guide” or “Social Networking Sites: Safety Tips for Tweens and Teens.”

Second, Fitzpatrick’s bill requires that schools and libraries install filters to block certain web sites. Under laws signed by President Clinton, libraries are already required to block sites deemed harmful to minors; these social networking sites are no exception. In fact, all schools and libraries in Bucks County already block these networking sites. Also, this doesn’t do nearly enough to stop kids from accessing these sites at home or at their friend’s homes, where most children use the Internet in the first place. This time, facts get in the way of Fitzpatrick’s sound byte.

Parents already have some of the resources they need to fight child predators on the Internet – but they need our help. The problem is one of hunting and prosecuting sexual predators. We need to offer law enforcement new programs and new funding so that they too can adapt to the technology. That way, we can guarantee the police will always be one step ahead of these sexual predators.

As a former prosecutor and son of a cop, I understand the need to catch and prosecute anyone who would dare compromise our children’s safety. By following the Murphy Plan for Online Protection, we can give law enforcement the tools they need to catch these predators, and give parents the tools they need to keep their kids safe. We need to change the way Washington does business, by pursuing real action, and we need to do it today, because it’s time we put our children’s safety first.

I’ll temporarily overlook that awful pun (and I know something about awful puns), and the idea about mandating downloadable site blocking software, though a good one, may run into problems. However, what Patrick proposes is easily better than anything I’ve heard or am likely to hear from Fitzpatrick.

Actually, if I were Mikey, I’d take care of this and this and then decide to can the MySpace thing (but of course, we know that plays with a lot of the knuckleheads who have been writing into the Courier Times singing his praises, so I guess we can forget that unfortunately, which is all the more reason to click here).

Update 6/19: Give it up, Mikey...