Are our children safe in today's society? Have the ideals that America has forced into mainstream society begun to affect our children's minds? These seem to be key issues pressing on the mind of Senator J. James Exon in the essay "Keep Internet Safe for Families."

Senator Exon is the voice of concern in the Senate for many Americans with children. He states that he wants people to "consider my proposal, the Communication Decency Amendment," which would "lay down some basic guidelines on the information superhighway." Senator Exon wants the government to put stiff regulations on Internet access in schools and libraries--places where kids can use the resource tool without supervision. The Senator goes on to mention that the amendment would impose strict fines on child pornographers and pedophiles who target children on the Internet.

There are already acts and laws on the books that deal with such ideas that are mentioned in Exon's essay. Research on the subject provided this information: "Congress passed the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and the Neighborhood Internet Protection Act (NCIPA) as part of a major spending bill (H.R. 4577) on December 15, 2000. The President [Bill Clinton] signed the bill into law on December 21, 2000 (Public Law 106-554)" (ALA, 2000). These acts are directly intended to affect the money that comes into schools for funding of libraries, media centers, and other school uses.

These actions sound very appealing to people like Senator Exon and many other family-supporting Americans, but the proposals are not enough. Schools receive money from the government, which in turn should come up with regulations on how the money is spent. The idea behind Senator Exon's opposition is that the government will be protecting an audience easily accessible by child pornographers. There is, however, a downside to every act that pops up in Congress, as can be seen in lawsuits filed against these acts. Lawsuits have been filed opposing these acts much like the suit filed here: "On March 20, 2001, the Electronic Frontier Foundation [EFF] joined the ACLU and other organizations in challenging new federal law requiring Internet blocking in schools and libraries participating in certain federal programs" (EFFM2001). The case is to be tried in 2002 and is based on the grounds that freedom of speech is violated. Supporters of the suit say that it is not fair to limit material to all people just to please a few concerned citizens. The question still remains, though, "Are our kids safe?" I believe that the answer will come swiftly in 2002 as these lawsuits are settled. I pray that the next generation of online users will be well protected by outspoken opponents to filth such as Senator Exon.

American Library Association. Press Release. 2000. 

Electronic Frontier Foundation Media. Press Release. April, 2001.

Exon, J. James. "Keep Internet Safe for Families." CyberReader. 2nd ed. Ed. Victor J. Vitanza. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1999, 144-145.