Earlier this year, Louisiana passed an important bill, SB250, requiring schools to notify parents of the “public health risks and harms of pornography.” Information to distribute must include: (a) The dangers of sexually charged cyberbullying. (b) The addictive and destructive nature of pornographic and illicit materials (c) The dangers of internet interaction with strangers. and (d) Resources available to parents who are seeking information regarding child safeguards and free internet filters for home computers. A list of free internet filters that filter out pornography shall also be provided.
In response, the Louisiana Department of Education, along with the help of Senate sponsor Beth Mizell, developed a one page Internet Safety Flyer for schools to distribute. Sen. Mizell told the National Decency Coalition (NDC), “I wanted to bring up this bill as a means to give parents the power to block the intrusion of harmful material on the internet on their children. The point was that parents take note of information sent home from school or as seen on the school district’s website and they are more likely to take action with confidence…”
Because of how pervasive pornography is today on mobile devices, and how prevalent devices are in the hands of children, this bill is vital. Under this law, a state could require public schools to deliver to parents all necessary information about the destructive nature of pornography, and how to adequately safeguard their child. Last year, Utah passed SB134, requiring Internet providers to notify customers of available filtering technology and to submit a copy to the State. According to Ricky Darr, co-founder of NDC, “Activists that drove Utah’s bill are also excited about Louisiana’s bill, and through a similar passage, they could package all of the filtering information submitted by Internet providers for every public school parent in the state. Parents, like in Louisiana, would be much more equipped to protect their child from this ever-growing crisis.”
According to Covenant Eyes research, 250+ Porn Stats, 71% of teens have done something to hide what they do online from their parents (this includes clearing browser history, deleting inappropriate videos, etc.), and 57% of teens seek out porn at least monthly. This phenomenon, along with other statistics, has led 10 states in the last two years to declare pornography a public health hazard or crisis. Also according to Covenant Eyes, of children who were accessing pornography, only 12% of parents were aware of them doing so.
Precedence has been laid for the government to enact laws in protecting the welfare of children where parental control or guidance cannot always be provided (Ginsberg v. New York 1968), and this law is another great work by the State to help parents take necessary and protective action.
Support
- Please contact us for letters of support from the National Decency Coalition and other organizations in support of this bill.
- For information on volunteering with our organization, go to http://decencyusa.org/volunteer/