You go straight at the behavior. You just say, “There are certain things we’re not going to tolerate.” Pedophiles using systems to pursue children is potentially as dangerous as if they walked into the room to pursue them … It’s like the telephone. I do not believe that the best approach is to go after the Net; it’s to go after the behavior.
Predictor: Gingrich, Newt
Prediction, in context:For a 1995 article for Wired magazine, Esther Dyson interviews U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich at his House office about the future of the Internet. Dyson quotes Gingrich saying: ”[Best-selling author] Tom Clancy was engaged in a project in a hospital to help children with long-term diseases get computers so they could stay in touch with their classrooms and stay involved. It was a big morale builder. But he found predation by pedophiles a very real problem. So, you go straight at the behavior. You just say, ‘There are certain things we’re not going to tolerate.’ Pedophiles using systems to pursue children is potentially as dangerous as if they walked into the room to pursue them … It’s like the telephone. I do not believe that the best approach is to go after the Net; it’s to go after the behavior.”
Biography:Newt Gingrich was a U.S. Congressman and the Speaker of the House of Representatives who was known to be so tech-savvy that Wired magazine ran stories on his tech policy positions. He opposed Senator Exon’s controversial Communications Decency Act. (Legislator/Politician/Lawyer.)
Date of prediction: May 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: Crime/Fraud/Terrorism
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: Friend or Foe: Newt Gingrich Talks the Talk About Being a Revolutionary. And He Walks the Walk by Ramming Through the Most Radical Political Agenda Since the New Deal. So Why Does He Still Leave Us Feeling Uncomfortable?
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.08/newt_pr.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney