Bill's Passage Divides Child-Safety Groups
Reprinted from the Nov. 16, 2007 edition of National Journal's Technology Daily
Proposed Aid To Child-Safety Group Riles Colleagues
By Andrew Noyes
Controversy is brewing over a House-passed Internet bill that would direct $25 million to a nonprofit provider of online child safety curricula over a five-year period. Child-safety advocates complain that it is unfair to funnel that much money to a single organization.
The legislation, H.R. 4134, would authorize $5 million annually through 2012 for Carlsbad, Calif.-based i-Safe. The House passed it by voice vote Tuesday, less than a week after California Democrat Linda Sanchez introduced it.
In an attempt to pacify critics, the legislation also would direct $5 million annually to the Justice Department for a competitive grant program whereby other Web safety groups could vie for funding, said Michael Torra, Sanchez's chief of staff. A Senate companion bill has not been introduced, he said.
"Authorizing i-Safe ensures that this program, which has already helped over 3 million children in all 50 states, will be able to continue its work," Sanchez said Wednesday. The group has a "proven track record for teaching kids how to be safe on the Internet."
Torra said i-Safe has received $11 million in appropriations since 2002, but the measure is the first stand-alone bill introduced to authorize an amount. The group did not receive an earmark in fiscal 2007 and, if the Senate does not pass the bill, it will be without federal money in fiscal 2008, an i-Safe spokesman said.
According to i-Safe's public tax forms, the group reported $384,395 in total assets in 2006, with more than $1 million coming from the Justice Department and $250,000 from Verizon Communications. I-Safe reported assets of $809,656 in 2005 and $1.14 million in 2004.
I-Safe also has received support from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; Microsoft; the Recording Industry Association of America; and VeriSign. IBM, Time Warner Cable, Verizon and Yahoo all have turned to i-Safe for programming and resources for community outreach.
"Representative Sanchez has recognized the need for Internet safety education, and her leadership has led to a commitment to cyber-safe schools, homes and communities," i-Safe President Teri Schroeder said in a press release.
But Nancy Willard, executive director of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use, said the legislation is "a very bad bill that, if passed in its current form, will ensure mediocrity in the delivery of Internet safety education for years."
She argued that i-Safe delivers "Web 1.0-style Internet safety education -- fear-based, simplistic rules with a 'just say no' approach that is doomed to failure with today's totally wired kids and teens." Investing so much in one group would eliminate benefits derived from competition and diversity, undermine collaboration, and stifle innovation, she said.
Willard said Congress should authorize Justice to provide funding for demonstration grants that would let schools, libraries and community groups deliver and evaluate education to address safe and responsible Internet use.
"There are many good Internet safety organizations working hard in our schools and communities, and we feel that all organizations should have an equal opportunity to receive funding through an open and transparent grant process," added Judi Westberg Warren, who runs the group Web Wise Kids.
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