SLJ Talks to Congressman Mark Kirk about DOPA's Revival

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Joan Oleck -- School Library Journal, 4/4/2007

Just when you thought last year's Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA) was dead, it's resurfaced again. This time, the bill is being reintroduced by Representative Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK).

The act requires schools and libraries that receive federal e-rate funding to protect minors from online predators. Translation? Kids would be banned from using social networking sites like MySpace, as well as chat rooms and blogs. And critics are saying that's a consitutional violation.

SLJ caught up with Kirk to talk about his reasoning and motivation for the law.

Why is passing DOPA so important to you?

I have a group of kids I work with: my Student Leadership Advisory Board. They're 36 kids who are the high school class presidents of every high school in my district [Chicago's North Shore suburbs]. [Each year] we ask them, "What's the biggest danger to kids that your parents don't know about?" Last year, they said, "Creeps online." Our group is two-thirds female. I asked, "How many of you guys have been approached by a predator?" And nearly every girl raised her hand.

Your bill demands that schools and public libraries deny access to social networking sites and chat rooms unless an adult is present and there's an educational purpose. Define "educational purpose."

We haven't defined "educational purpose" in the legislation, but our purpose is a more basic one. In some places we have unfettered [computer] access, and disturbing incidents have resulted. In Lake County, IL, predators were using MySpace to reach high school computers.

It doesn't seem right if libraries outright ban social networking sites, wikis, and blogs.

Computers used by adults should be free and unfettered, whatever the local policy. In the realm of minor children, the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the government has a compelling interest in protecting them. And I think that Congress and the laws of the United States have fallen dangerously behind the technology used by predators.

What about the First Amendment?

Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes said [in De Jonge v. Oregon] that there must be common sense put into the law, that you cannot yell "fire!" in a crowded theater and start a stampede—then defend your action on First Amendment grounds. And the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that there are compelling interests in protecting children.

What do you have to say to librarians and civil rights advocates who call the DOPA legislation vague and ineffective?

My response is that they're out of touch with over 400 members of Congress who are representing the American people.

Are you aware that your critics say that you're advocating censorship?

Yes, I am totally in favor of censoring predators from children!

What about just educating kids about smart and safe ways to surf the Web?

These are 10- and 11-year-old children. We want them to be educated and act responsibly. But they are children! They are so naive and so innocent. The danger is that with a [young] child, you can tell her about all the dangers in the world. But she's eight!

The only thing you can really do, as we do with car seats and door locks and making sure the front door is closed, is to physically protect the child. The Internet only came online in 1993, and this danger didn't emerge until a few years later, and our laws are totally behind the curve.