Bush Signs Two Online Predator Bills Into Law

President Bush signed into law two bills that will make it much harder for child molesters to lurk with anonymity on the Web, especially at social networking sites.

The new law, called the "Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act of 2008" or the "KIDS Act of 2008," requires registered sex offenders to provide "Internet identifiers", including e-mail addresses, to state sex offender registries. Those identifiers will also be used by social networking sites (presumably at the request of authorities) to identify suspect users at the National Sex Offender Registry.

As social networking became the huge phenomenon that it is, news reports began showing up documenting the ease at which predators could contact minors, and even arrange offline meetings with them, at social networking sites. The new law can be seen as a direct response to those cases.

Bush also signed the "PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008," which requires the Department of Justice to create and implement a national strategy, as well as a new task force, for tracking down predators on the Web and prosecuting them.

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