A bill recently passed by the Indiana General Assembly
banned convicted sex offenders from using social-networking sites,
instant-messaging programs, and chat rooms which may include children. The law also requires these offenders to register their
e-mail address each year with the state and within 72 hours of changing the email or face felony charges.
"Indiana has gone further than any other
state in protecting our children online," Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter said Monday.
He went on to state that the law "might not stop everybody," but he's confident many
offenders will be deterred by possible felony
charges resulting from noncompliance.
While the new law might be well intended in its attempts at curtailing pedophilia via internet predation, it's impossible to enforce without enlisting the help of those providing the internet services, such as MySpace, Facebook, and AOL. If Indiana wants to get serious about banning sex offenders from social networking sites and other internet services, it must require these companies to cross-reference email addresses with the FBI's sex offender registry.
Of course, not every company will embrace the idea of losing business, especially if they're required to dole out the costs of building the cross-referencing technology. And even if corporations get involved, their role is dependent upon sex offenders not changing their email addresses and registering for services with alternate email accounts.
So is the Indiana law doomed for failure? Probably, but the larger question is whether or not it is unconstitutional. Keep your eye out for a legal battle in Indiana courts. If you miss it, you can catch it via Law & Order reruns.