The bill, if enacted, would have amended the Communications Act of 1934, requiring schools and libraries that receive E-rate funding to protect minors from online predators in the absence of parental supervision when using "Commercial Social Networking Websites" and "Chat Rooms".
It was criticized by Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) for being hastily rewritten before its vote and did not get markup of a full House Committee.
Similar bills to ban or restrict access to social networking sites have been introduced in Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Illinois in 2007.
In addition, many media companies, such as News.com publisher CNET Networks, permit users to create profiles displaying photos and other personal information, as well as sending email to other members.
Before the floor vote in the House, the bill was amended to read: (J) COMMERCIAL SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITES; CHAT ROOMS—Within 120 days after the date of enactment of the Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006, the Commission shall by rule define the terms 'social networking website' and 'chat room' for purposes of this subsection.
In introducing his part of the Suburban Caucus agenda, Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA) said that as a father he was concerned that, since the "world moves and changes at a dizzying pace," he felt he could no longer keep up in protecting his children, especially when they had Internet access in places other than their own home.
In his speech, he noted that one in five children had received an unwanted online solicitation of a sexual nature and that child pornography had increased by 2,000 percent in the past decade.
In fact, she noted, a minor in Michigan had traveled halfway across the world to Jericho to meet in person someone she met on MySpace.
[8] Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) spoke and referred to the murder of Jessica Lunsford by John Couey, and said that stalking could now occur online as well as in person.
[9] The arguments against the bill have focused on efforts to revise it to directly address the problem of online predators, and to prevent the blocking of harmless and/or educational websites.
Former ALA president Michael Gorman said, "We know that the best way to protect children is to teach them to guard their privacy and make wise choices.
[11] On July 11, 2006, the Executive Director of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), Beth Yoke, testified before the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet under the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
In essence, we believe that this legislation will lead to the blocking of essential and beneficial Interactive Web applications and will further widen the digital divide.
[12] Following the House vote, the ALA issued a press release recommending libraries demonstrate the utility of the same technologies that would be barred by DOPA.
[14] Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA) and Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) argued that the bill would fail to combat the threats to minors and that it would place a burden on schools and libraries to block millions of sites with largely innocent information.
Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) suggested that the law should focus upon directly blocking and prosecuting predators as well as providing tools to educate children on how to avoid dangers—noting that most Internet access, especially to social networking sites, occurs in the home.
[8] Education and prevention programs regarding predators and social networking could help reduce the rate of sexual assaults overall—whether over the Internet from home or offline.