Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-Harrison) called for stronger measures Tuesday to protect children from online predators.
At a news conference Lowey demanded three things done to make the Internet safer for children. Lowey wants to increase the number of FBI agents investigating child exploitation, especially on the Internet. She wants to make it a crime for an Internet service provider to fail to report child porn. Lastly, Lowey says sex offenders should be required to include their e-mail address when registering under Megan's Law.
With the growth of social Web sites, such as MySpace, the fear is children who frequent these sites can become targets for predators. One group working to prevent that is Teen Angels. They are a group of 13 to 18-year-old volunteers, trained by police in online safety, privacy and security.
Even though Lowey is proposing tougher action against online predators, she admits there are still limits to what government and law enforcement can do. However, Lowey believes the extra effort made to police the Internet will go a long way to making it safer for kids.
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