House Web Safety Bill Forthcoming
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., will soon introduce legislation that would create a competitive grant program for state and local education agencies and non-profit organizations to provide Internet safety education to teachers, schools and parents. The measure, which would authorize up to $175 million over five years, would be administered by the Justice Department in collaboration with the departments of Health and Human Services and Education. Wasserman Schultz's bill will be a companion to one introduced earlier this year by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.
"There's no silver bullet, no one technology," Wasserman Schultz said at a Wednesday briefing on Capitol Hill sponsored by Point Smart, Click Safe -- a coalition of non-profits and companies like Comcast, Google, Verizon, and Yahoo. "Our bill recognizes that knowledge must be our children's first line of defense," she said. Wasserman Schultz, who has 10-year-old twins and a five-year-old daughter, said she hoped her legislation could provide the strong federal leadership called for in a new Point Smart, Click Safe report. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., who also spoke at the event, said it is imperative that non-profits and high-tech firms "help us help parents understand."
The Point Smart, Click Safe paper asks policymakers to consider expanding online safety efforts to emphasize digital media literacy programs. It also calls for the president or Congress to lead a federal agency that would work collaboratively with all major stakeholders in marshaling resources for improved online safety. Additionally, the group urged policymakers to consider adopting a set of national goals for online safety, including minimum standards for a curriculum on digital literacy. Click here to review Point Smart, Click Safe's recommendations and here to read a new paper by Web safety expert Adam Thierer of the Progress and Freedom Foundation.
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