The Exon bill would do nothing to stop pedophiles from seducing children in cyberspace … Common sense and parental involvement is the way to foil pedophiles.
Predictor: Bennahum, David S.
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article for the New York Times, David Bennahum covers the issues involved in the controversy over the Communications Decency Act. Bennahum quotes Sen. James Exon (D-Nebraska) as he expresses an opposing view of the future: ”According to Senator Exon …cyberspace is a dangerous jungle of interconnected networks where pedophiles and pornographers roam freely. By stopping obscenity in cyberspace, you protect children, the logic goes. In the meantime, little attention is being paid to the constituency this legislation is supposed to protect: children … Cyberspace is their world. Of the 6.8 million households with online accounts, 35 percent have a youngster under 18, and the average age on the Internet is 23 and falling. So how are children handling themselves in this environment? Pretty well, it seems … For all the talk of adults stalking children online, there are few cases of actual face-to-face contact initiated by a meeting in cyberspace, according to Ernie Allan, the director of the National Center for Missing or Abused Children. The numbers are low because, for the most part, children know enough not to give their addresses to strangers or agree to meet with them … The underlying fear behind the bill taps into ageless stories we’ve all grown up with. Like the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood, the cyber-stalker, we are told, comes disguised as a friend, even another child, and sneaks undetected into the most secure of domestic settings – the bedroom … Today’s version makes much of the fact that in cyberspace there are no walls or doors for parents to lock. Today’s wolf comes home through the innocuous copper filament in the bedroom wall. Yet the Exon bill would do nothing to stop pedophiles from seducing children in cyberspace. Pedophiles do not harass or send obscene material to their intended victims; they form friendships. Sending vulgar messages erodes the essential ingredient required for a meeting – trust. For things to get out of hand, children must make the essential move, agreeing to a face-to-face meeting. Stopping that from happening is beyond the reach of Federal law. It requires parents and children to set rules about meeting friends made online. Common sense and parental involvement is the way to foil pedophiles.”
Date of prediction: May 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: Censorship/Free Speech
Name of publication: New York Times
Title, headline, chapter name: Getting Cyber Smart
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://memex.org/nyt-gettingcybersmart.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney