Social media sites face challenges in implementing sex offender policies

April 03, 2013

Social media sites face challenges in implementing sex offender policies

Earlier this year, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago struck down as unconstitutional an Indiana law barring registered sex offenders from using social medial sites such as Facebook. The Indiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the law on behalf of multiple sex offenders, all of whom were affected by the ban even though they had served their sentences and were no longer on probation. The three-judge panel found that the law was far too broad as written and prohibited substantial protected speech. In the court's opinion, laws of this kind must be more specifically tailored to target improper communication with minors.

This recent case illustrates the delicate course that social media sites must pursue in order to attempt to stop inappropriate speech online. In order to protect younger users and to avoid liability, sites such as Facebook are eager to implement robust controls to prevent sex offenders from interacting with those who are underage. The problem, of course, is that these efforts can potentially impact those who have neither committed a crime nor acted inappropriately.

In general, social media sites implement a two-tier strategy to identify potentially questionable content on their networks: an automated system flags particular words and phrases and these instances are forwarded to a team that examines them and determines whether to contact authorities. Of course, no automated system is perfect and the people responding to possibly suspect content are not police officers. The possibility that an innocent person's information may be referred to police on a misunderstanding is very real.

Some may argue that these measures are necessary to stop sex offenders from taking advantage of children, particularly considering that communication via social media is becoming ever more important among those in their teens. Statistics indicate, however, that instances of online "enticement" are rare and even declining. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, there were 3,638 reported instances of online enticement of children by adults in 2011, which marked a significant decline from previous years.

The difficulties involved in implementing intelligent online polices are only likely to grow as social media becomes a more widely accepted means of communication for people of all ages. Lawmakers and businesses must act carefully to avoid impacting the free speech rights of individuals, no matter the perceived threat.

If you are facing investigation for a sex crime, contact an experienced criminal defense lawyer. An experienced criminal defense attorney can evaluate your case and advise you of your options.

Article provided by Randolph L. Goldman
Visit us at www.rgoldmanlawyer.com