DOPA Dead (probably)

School kids all across the country may be breathing a sigh of relief that Congress has finished its session, and they can still log onto MySpace because of it. Well, maybe.

Reason being that the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA), H. R. 5319, bill was never addressed by the 2006 Senate, and as such will have to be reintroduced if it’s ever to see the President’s desk for a signature, as noted by education pundit and blogger Andy Carvin.

The DOPA bill was introduced in May of last year by Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, as an attempt to protect school kids from online sexual predators as well as obscene and pornographic imagery. The bill would have restricted public school computers from accessing social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. It passed through the House in July, but has since then languished in the Senate where the vague nature of its wording was seized upon by critics and it seems unlikely to be reintroduced.