Legislation Would Target Message Sites on Internet ; MySpace, Facebook Are Focus of Proposal to Give Schools Authority

By JEREMY PELZER STATE CAPITOL BUREAU

Concerned about online threats to children from adults – and to adults from children – Illinois House Republicans unveiled legislation Wednesday to crack down on Internet sex predators and students who post death threats.

One proposal would allow school districts to discipline students who make threats against school officials, teachers or other students on social networking Web sites such as MySpace or Facebook, or on instant messaging programs such as AOL Instant Messenger.

School administrators would have this authority even if the student made the threat from a home computer or after school hours.

House Minority Leader Tom Cross said the proposal came after a student in Cross’ hometown of Oswego recently posted a death threat against his school’s principal on a social networking site.

The school wanted to suspend the student, Cross said, but administrators were unclear about whether they were allowed to do that.

Clarifiying that authority gives educators “another tool” to address such problems, he said.

However, Ed Yohnka, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said the proposal “seems redundant,” as “students who made threats, whether online or in person, already can be disciplined by schools.”

Yohnka also voiced concern that, if the legislation is passed, school administrators would punish students not just for posting death threats online, but also for legitimate speech, such as criticism or satire of school officials.

Acknowledging there “could be” First Amendment issues with the proposal, Rep. Bob Biggins, R-Elmhurst, said, “With this new technology comes new crimes, and new ways to commit them. Maybe there’ll be different ways to interpret our laws as well.”

Another GOP proposal would prohibit adults from discussing sex acts with a minor online.

Currently, it’s legal for an adult to hold a sexually explicit conversation with a child and even arrange a meeting – as long as no substantial steps are taken to actually meet the child, said Rep. Sandra Pihos, R-Glen Ellyn.

During hearings held last year by the House Republican Internet Safety Task Force, law enforcement officials posing as children demonstrated how easy it was for sex predators to pounce.

“At every one of those demonstrations, sometimes within minutes or within seconds of entering into a chat room, the officer posing as the child was solicited for conversations by an adult,” Pihos said. “In many cases the adult wanted to have sexually explicit conversations.”

“It was really very alarming,” she added.

A third GOP proposal would ease state eavesdropping laws so law enforcement officials can intercept child pornography transmissions.

Currently, police officials looking to intercept such transmissions must first get permission from both parties – a rule, Biggins said, that makes it almost impossible to catch the swapping of child pornography.

The proposal would allow law enforcement, after winning court approval, to intercept transmissions of child pornography without the offender’s knowledge.

Other proposals would increase the penalties for Internet death threats to a Class 3 felony and force those convicted of distributing harmful material to minors to register as sex offenders.

Biggins said the legislation would be “a top priority” for Republican lawmakers this spring.

The bills are HB37, HB38, HB39, HB40, and HB41.

(c) 2007 State Journal Register. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.