New Michigan "internet predator" legislation?

Nov 27 17:50 UTC 1999

There was an article in Wednesday's Ann Arbor News about some more proposed
"Internet predator" legislation in Michigan.  If I read the article correctly,
it would make it illegal for an adult talking to a minor online to arrange
to meet that minor.  From the article's discription of the law, it didn't seem
to say anything about the intent in arranging the meeting, although their 
quotes from the law's sponsor indicated pretty clearly that he "intended" to
go after "Internet sex predators" with it.  As far as I know, using the   
Internet to arrange to meet a minor for sex is already illegal, so perhaps
this proposal has to be far more broad or it will be harder to score political
points with it?

The article also said the law has a provision where anybody found guilty of
violating it would be required to pay for the cost of the prosecution.  Is
that legal?  Presumably that would mean that somebody who thought there was
a good chance they would be found guilty would be given a choice between  
pleading guilty and giving up their right to trial, or pleading innocent and
ending up with a larger prosecution bill the better the defense they put on.

Does anybody know more about this?  If the proposed law is written as the 
article seems to say, it would sure put a damper on a lot of Grex social  
activities a lot of us have taken for granted over the last several years.

response 2 of 48:

Nov 27 18:52 UTC 1999

So, as written, great-grandma could serve time for trying to seduce 
(with money and cookies, no less!!!) her HS-football-team great-
grandson into coming over to shovel her out after a big snowstorm???

I believe that our state government is stupid enough to get it that
wrong, but i believe the same about the Ann Arbor Snooze.

response 4 of 48:

Nov 27 20:05 UTC 1999

Hey, scg! Couldja please find the article and give us the bill number 
and/or the sponsor so's we can find the silly thing?
<otter is dizzy from surfing legislative proposals and news archives>

response 6 of 48:

Nov 27 20:14 UTC 1999

This item now linked to cyberpunk your conf of the social implications
of networked society.  This has been a great month for Agora to cyberpunk
items. :-)

response 8 of 48:

Nov 28 03:40 UTC 1999

Yikes.  This would be a VeryBadThing (tm)  If I understand #0, the 
GrexWalk, Grex Night Outs, and GrexVolleyball (coming soon) would all be 
in violation if a minor happened to attend them.

response 10 of 48:

Nov 28 06:17 UTC 1999

The article didn't give the bill number.  The sponsor is State Senator Mike
Rodgers.  The article was on page C6 of Wednesday's Ann Arbor News, with the
headline "Legislation targets Internet predators."  It was an Associated Press
sotry, written by Malcolm Johnson.  I couldn't find anything about it on the
websites of either of the major Detroit newspapers, or the Ann Arbor News's
website.  I'll try to type in the text of the article if I have some time in
the next day or two.

As I said, the article was very vague on the wording of the legislation, and
it's not at all clear whether the State Senator doesn't know the difference
between arranging on the Internet to meet for sex or arranging to meet for
some other reason, or whether the author of the article didn't know the
difference.

response 12 of 48:

Nov 28 06:59 UTC 1999

Legislation targets Internet Predators

- Proposal would make arrangements to meet child online a crime.

By Malcolm Johnson, The Associated Press

LANSING -- Michigan needs tougher laws to go after sexual predators who use
the Internet to snare children, a state senator said Tuesday.

"We have seen there is real danger on the Internet," said Sen. Mike Rogers,
R-Brighton, as he unveiled legislation to beef up state laws to crack down
on sexual predators.

His proposals, which he plans to introduce soon, would make it a crime to make
arrangements online to meet someone believed to be a child, even if the
intended victim turns out tobe an adult, Rogers said.

The bills also call for the forfeiture of computer equipment and vehicles used
in the crime, and make a convicted felon in such cases liable for the cost
of prosecution.

"It's overwhelming the catastrophic damage that abuse does," said Rogers, an
unannounced candidate for Congress in teh 8th District.  He was joined at a
news conference by Wayne County Prosecutor Robert Ficano, who maintains an
Internet crime bureau to go after such violators.

David Faverman, spokesman for Rogers' probable Democratic opponent, state Sen.
Dianne Byrum of Onondaga, declined to comment on Rogers' bills.

During the news conference, one of Ficano's deputy sheriffs demonstrated how
easy it is for sexual predators to locate potential victims.

Ficano said there's no substitute for parents keeping tabs on their children's
computeruse and being aware if their children are chatting with strangers
about questionable acts.

"The real key is education and parents taking responsibility for what their
children are doing," Ficano said.

Rogers said the familiarity of a home computer can lend a false sense of
security.

"Just because it's in your living room and you're a few feet away doesn't mean
there are no bandits going after your kids," he said.

He said the children should be taught that some adults may pose as kids and
to notify an adult if somebody online makes them uncomfortable or asks to meet
them.  Children should never share personal information online, he said.

He added that parents hsould monitor children's computer time.

response 14 of 48:

Nov 28 10:35 UTC 1999

(it sounds [to me] as something similar to so-called "hate crime" 
legislation, i.e., a way to tack on extra punishment to an existing
crime. I didn't gather that he's seeking to make meeting people from
the Internet a crime, but rather a crime to use the Internet to pick
up children for immortal porpoises.)

response 16 of 48:

Nov 28 13:35 UTC 1999

Heh.  Nothing remotely resembling details on what exactly it proposes to
outlaw, doesn't sounds like the paper has heard any details, and Sen.
Windbag may not have bothered to write anything on paper yet, anyway.
This should have been given less press coverage than "Free mixed-breed
kittens to good home".

response 18 of 48:

Nov 28 17:44 UTC 1999

If you have kittens that can dress themselves, I'll take em.

response 20 of 48:

Nov 28 21:38 UTC 1999

re #15: (it's an old joke.)  ;)

response 22 of 48:

Nov 29 17:23 UTC 1999

So it would be OK to use the telephone to arrange to meet a neigbhorhood kid
to act as a babysitter, but heinously illegal to do it in text online?

response 24 of 48:

Nov 29 20:16 UTC 1999

  time for Helen Lovejoy to pop out of the woodwork and wail
  "Won't somebody *please* think of the children?"

  (it's a long-running gag that occasionally surfaces in 'the
  Simpsons' whenever they start making fun of stuff like the
  pending legislation described in #0..)