Saturday, February 18, 2012

Judge Strikes Down Law Banning Sex Offenders from Facebook

Well this will cause some major issues in all the states.. Laws will have to be rewritten and pass..

A federal judge in the Middle District of Louisiana has struck down a state law barring sex offenders from using Facebook and other social media on First Amendment grounds.

Chief Judge Brian Jackson ruled Thursday that the law, which took effect in August, imposed “a sweeping ban on many commonly read news and information websites,” as well as social networking sites.

The definition of “chat room” in the law is so broad, for instance, the court’s own website could fall under the ban, he said.

John Doe

However Facebook had this to say,

“We take the safety and security of our users, especially the many young people on Facebook, very seriously. We have consistently supported bills that criminalize usage of social networking sites by registered sex offenders. Our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities already bars these individuals from using Facebook and we would welcome the potential of criminal penalties to strengthen these provisions.”

The Governor had this to say,

Louisiana families should have the comfort of knowing their children are able to go online without the threat of sex predators. It’s offensive that the Court would rule that the rights of sex predators are more important than the rights of innocent children. As the father of three young kids, I will do everything in our power to protect Louisiana families and that includes appealing to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and bringing legislation this upcoming session to fortify and strengthen the law.

The internet is the virtual playground where sex offenders are trying to strike and prey on our kids. We must have the tools to crack down on monsters that are preying on our kids. If these predators want to search the internet for a victim, they won’t be able to do it in the State of Louisiana.

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