Holy Bejesus! Let me ask a question that I know the obvious answer to... Humor me.
Do you think that your parents should have backdoor access to your Facebook account? What about your younger brother or sister? How about your friend's parents? Should they have access to your friend's Facebook accounts and thusly access to your wall and see all the things you've posted or written privately to that friend? All your private messages?
A bill has been introduced to California legislature that might do exactly that. It might grant that kind of access to all of your social networking sites to your parents.
It looks like lawmakers aren't just trying to protect young people from the usual sexual predators, advertisers or bullies... these guys are taking Internet security one-step further and trying to protect teens from themselves.
Which is complete bullsh*t... I mean you can drive a car at 16, I think you can handle your own Facebook or Google account.
The new bill is labeled SB242 and it is set to mandate new privacy policies for social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Skype and more... and it would implement a number of changes to how social networks handle ALL user privacy.
Sure, the bill raises some valid questions such has what is the difference between Internet safety for children, versus that for teenagers or adults? That makes sense. It's a new world and we need to figure out how to keep people safe on the internet. I get that. However, parts of this bill look like they were written by the paranoid right wing parent of an out of control teen.
The parts I'm talking about would grant backdoor access for parents to their children's social media accounts. I mean your parents could go to Facebook and say, "I'm so-and-so's parent and I want this information and photos removed from their account." And the website would have 48 hours to comply or face some serious fines. How are your parents gonna prove that they are your parents to Facebook? How will social networking sites verify parenthood? What do they have to provide? A copy of your birth certificate? I mean seriously, could any hacker pretend to be my mom and get access to my FB account? That's pretty damn creepy if you ask me. Also what about divorced parents with different names than the child? Emancipated minors? How is Facebook gonna know if you've been emancipated? Is there a way to block parents or revoke their access to your Facebook page if they crazy alcoholics or something?
I mean think about it! What if your crazy mom had access to your Facebook page? What if she could make changes, remove information and take down photos that she didn't like or approve of? That would totally suck.
![(source)](http://<img src="http://cdn.smosh.com/sites/default/files/legacy.images/smosh-pit/052011/facebook-door-4.jpg" /></p>){kind=link}
Some experts say, “Why do well-intentioned politicians assume that parent-child dynamics are always healthy?” Which is a good point. Some kids have unfit parents and Facebook gives them a little freedom to do and say things that they might not be able to do and say at home. What about first amendment right for all people, not just adults?
What do you think about this new bill? Should all states adopt bills like this? Are they going too far? Do you think it's good for the safety of young people to grant this kind of access to parents? What problems could come from a bill like this?
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