What is DOPA and what’s the fuss about?
DOPA stands for the Deleting Online Predators Act. Basically, it would require that agencies participating in the E-Rate program block access to all social networking sites. The bill easily passed the House in August, but became stalled in the Senate when respected groups including the National PTA, the National School Boards Association, and the International Society for Technology in Education made their opposition widely known. It’s not that these groups object to promoting Internet safety. It’s the fact that as written, DOPA requires schools to block sites that have educational value. In addition, program implementation requirements will be a logistical nightmare for its overseers. At the time this was written, DOPA had been referred to the Senate Commerce Committee.
Submitted by: Susan Brooks-Young
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