Sean Parker, the founding President of Facebook, has frequently said that he tries to say at least one thing a day that would disqualify him from running for public office. Fortunately for Parker, he’s already a billionaire and doesn’t have to think about the more basic necessities of life — like trying to land his first job after college in the Obama economy.
Where is my daily tweet which disqualifies me from public office? Tonights GAME: tweet one line which would exclude YOU from public office!
— Sean Parker (@sparker) October 22, 2011
But for an entire generation of young people growing up online, even a momentary lapse of judgement in a Facebook status update or a tweet can have ramifications for years. Online activity has kept some kids from getting into a good college, and even landed some in jail.
Although its important for teens (and everyone else for that matter) to remember the simple rule that anything online once is online forever, one Ala. lawmaker is trying to give minors the ability to erase their online discretions.
“HB513 requires service providers online like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to have a mechanism to permanently delete a minor’s info,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jack Williams, R-Vestavia Hills. “That could mean a photo taken of a minor in a compromising situation, or maybe they just did something stupid. Or it could be that there are groups online trolling for information that might include data that parents don’t want out there, like addresses or Social Security Numbers. This bill would help protect kids from online predators and cyber bullying and, frankly, from their lack of wisdom.”
Williams said that the idea for the bill came from a teenager in his district who reached out to him and asked him to look into the issue.
“I had a teenager contact me about this, asking me look at it and if I’d be willing to sponsor it,” Williams said. “Then one of my sons called me and asked if I was familiar with the issue and said he thought it was a good idea. I did some research and thought it provides some protections for young people that we need in an ever-expanding cyber world.”
Yellowhammer asked Williams if he felt like it was reasonable to believe that things could actually be permanently deleted online. He conceded that online files like pictures could be downloaded and spread by other people and that there was no way to stop that, especially in situations where something is going “viral.” However, he said he believes giving parents and minors a chance to erase things where they can is the right thing to do.
Williams’ bill would leave it to the companies to put a system in place to permanently delete info, rather than trying to dictate how they do it.
“This bill leaves it to the companies to set up a process,” he said. “We can’t legislate exactly how they should do it because they need to have the flexibility to set it up in a way that works for them and their users.”
California passed a similar law last week, the first of its kind in the nation.
“Kids and teenagers often self-reveal before they self-reflect,” said James Steyer, chief executive of Common Sense Media, an advocacy group that pushed for the law. “It’s a very important milestone.”
But some groups have already expressed concerns with the California law. Critics say it may actually inadvertently put minors at even greater risk because companies have to collect more information about them to comply with the law. For instance, they have to find out whether they are under the age of 18 and what state they live in.
Additionally, if multiple states pass similar laws, online companies could potentially have to navigate a complex maze of laws in different areas of the country.
It’s too early to tell how much traction the Alabama bill might get, but a group of major tech companies is flying in to the state to meet with Williams and other legislative leaders about it next week.
Do you think the bill is a good idea?
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
