State ban proposed to block MySpace in public schools, libraries

Illinois state Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, recently proposed to ban access to the popular social networking Web site MySpace.com in all schools and libraries throughout the state, citing a need to combat online sexual predators.Advocates for student freedom of expression say the proposed bill limits expression in schools. But Murphy's proposed bill is not the first of its kind and a ban has already been implemented in Chicago public schools.

North Side public schools got a jump start on blocking sites such as MySpace and YouTube from school computers more than four years ago.

"The Board of Education filtered [internet usage] already," a librarian at Amundsen High School at 5110 N. Damen Ave. said. "Kids cannot access MySpace anyways."

Deborah Caldwell Stone, deputy director of Office of Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association, said bans on social networking sites are counterproductive in protecting students from online predators.

"The internet is like a swimming pool," Stone said. "We can put up a fence and barbed wire, but once the child gets in there, they'll drown."

"The broad scheme of safety education is working with parents and educators together to create a social expectation [of internet behavior]," Stone said. "That will do far more than just putting flat ban on certain web sites on internet. It's not going to solve the problem it's just to make people feel good."

Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, a nonprofit organization that advocates student press rights, said blocking social networking Web sites in schools crosses the student expression boundary.

"I think we have to remember we are preparing young people for life in a democratic society where free expression is a value we hold dear," Goodman said. "The amazing thing that social networking sites have done is given young people the ability to communicate with each other in a way they've never had before-– geographic boundaries are not as important as issues important to [young people]."

North Side school administrators and Chicago public school officials said they have not given much thought to the issue of freedom of expression through social networking Web sites because they say students have alternative outlets.

Carter Carey, assistant principal of Senn High School at 5900 N. Glenwood Ave., said the social networking Web site ban in Chicago public schools is "not negative."

"I never saw [banning social networking sites] as limiting student expression," Carey said. "It does not limit them academically because of other ways they have been able to express themselves: lots of essays, tons of power points, a lot of journaling. Kids are encouraged to talk about issues and concerns and express themselves there."

In 2006, MySpace was the most visited Web site in the U.S. A recent Department of Justice study said one in five children are approached by a sexual predator online, a statistic that the Illinois Senate intends to combat through the new proposal.

However, a 2005 Crimes Against Children Research Center study suggests that social networking Web sites are no more of a concern than other interactive online venues, such as chat rooms or instant messaging.

Janis Wolak, research assistant and professor at the research center said the study showed teenage online activity through social networking sites was not prevalent in online predator threats.

"It's the talking to unknown people that is the risk factor," Wolak said. "Social networking is posting. People have this fear that so-called sexual predators are going to read into these sites and then go track kids down; we're not seeing that scenario happening."

This information begs student expression advocates to question the necessity of bans on social networking sites.

"I think that [social networking Web sites] promotes a new level of activism on a wide variety of issues," Goodman said. "How can anyone say that that is not a good thing?"

Chicago Public Schools Area Library Coordinator Lisa Perez, who is in charge of the North Side library system, said social networking Web sites are beneficial if students "use them responsibly."

"While social networking Web sites may be useful for other purposes, a lot of times they don't tie directly into curriculum," Perez said. "There are a number of ways that kids express themselves, through art and writing."

Carey said he agrees that the "other" ways students express themselves in school ensure responsibility.

"It's freedom of expression, but it is also being responsible [in] school," Carey said. "You worry about students making bad choices, putting out information that shouldn't be there, and abusing this tool will affect our students."

No hearing date has been set for the proposed bill. A representative for Murphy was unable to be reached Wednesday.