PDA

View Full Version : Supreme Court strikes down sex offender social media ban



AeonPax
06-20-2017, 07:33 AM
`






WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court struck down a North Carolina law Monday that bars convicted sex offenders from Facebook, Twitter and other popular sites. The justices ruled unanimously in favor of North Carolina resident Lester Packingham Jr. His Facebook boast about beating a traffic ticket led to his conviction for violating a 2008 law aimed at keeping sex offenders off internet sites children might use.

The court rejected the state’s argument that the law deals with the virtual world in the same way that states keep sex offenders out of playgrounds and other places children visit. “In sum, to foreclose access to social media altogether is to prevent the user from engaging in the legitimate exercise of First Amendment rights,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas cautioned that Kennedy’s “loose rhetoric” could prevent states from taking any measures to restrict convicted sex offenders on the internet. “This language is bound to be interpreted by some to mean that the states are largely powerless to restrict even the most dangerous sexual predators from visiting any internet sires, including for example internet dating sites,” Alito wrote for the three justices. - Source (https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/supreme-court-strikes-down-sex-offender-social-media-ban/2017/06/19/58c1fa54-5503-11e7-840b-512026319da7_story.html?utm_term=.b5f5bf313e3b)
`
`
The states will need to go back and carefully craft such laws as to withstand constitutional scrutiny.

Common
06-20-2017, 07:46 AM
That was a mistake IMHO

Standing Wolf
06-20-2017, 08:16 AM
Not sure whether the N.C. law drew any distinction between "sex offenders" who molested children, at one end of the spectrum, and, at the other end, those on the registry who were there because they are unfortunate enough to have been seen by law enforcement taking a leak in a doorway at 3 in the morning, but I suspect not. A more tightly written statute might have passed judicial muster.

On the other hand, laws that restrict the presence of such people in or around places like playgrounds and school - whether their offenses involved children or not - do not extend to all public places where children might be found - like the grocery store, the movies or Starbucks. Unless we're talking about a social media site specifically designed for use by children or teens, social media sites are more like the latter than the former.

DGUtley
06-20-2017, 08:23 AM
I have not read the decision; but the reports suggested that the SC indicated that a tighter statute would pass muster.

Adelaide
06-20-2017, 08:28 AM
There are a couple problems with this. There are different kinds of sex offenders, for one. The kid that got convicted of pissing in public or indecent exposure (streaking in University comes to mind) will only be on the list for a certain amount of time, usually, but long enough to impact their lives seriously. There really is not a reason they should not have the same access to Facebook and Twitter that everyone else has.

I also do not think it is on the same level as the rules about going near schools or parks. Technically, anyone under 13 would be a COPPA user and there would be special rules or functions to protect them, if they are even allowed to join the site to begin with (if they are not and they lie about their age, that is a problem for Facebook, not Facebook's users). Technically, that would mean Facebook should not be fodder for pedophiles since 13 is beyond their scope, so to speak. But if we are talking about the idiot offender who engaged in public urination or indecent exposure or something along those lines, there really isn't a reason to keep them off social media. They are not interested in children or teenagers - they made a very poor decision and got caught.

Even with COPPA, I could see the benefits of specifically banning pedophiles and those who have possessed child pornography. If there is legislation regulating who can use social media, then it would be reasonable to apply it to specific types of sex offenders.

texan
06-20-2017, 08:54 AM
I agree with the court.

Green Arrow
06-20-2017, 09:20 AM
I think the Court made the right decision. The NC law was too broad and should have been struck down.

Peter1469
06-20-2017, 03:08 PM
States need to tighten up their sex offender lists with protecting children in mind.