Chelsea Clinton and James P. Steyer have a disturbing op-ed
on CNN, “Is the Internet Hurting Children?”, link here.
Pediatricians have been saying for some time that kids
should not be exposed to media until at least the age of 2 or so, because rapid
motion in media could interfere with normal development.
But other questions are intensifying: questions about
privacy, long term reputation, and cognitive and social development usually
achieved only in “the real world”. The editorial makes special notice of the
permanence of digital memory.
The ability of people to “make names for themselves” without
direct social interaction or real world competition will certainly raise some
questions in the future. For example,
one could postulate a rule that one should not be allowed to self-publish
anything without supervision and without its paying ts own way in terms of
income (partly to cover the hidden risks involved). Or one could be denied a global voice until
he or she has other people to provide for.
Both of these would deep-six me. But
they would raise real questions about how our whole system of individualism and
personal responsibility should work.
In fact, my presence on the web for fifteen years or so may
well have contributed to the “keep ‘em honest” idea that helped overturn DADT,
COPA, and even sodomy laws. I just
didn’t go away. One would think I am
simply protected by the First Amendment.
But really, it’s because the legal system has protected providers from
downstream liability, by and large (DMCA Safe Harbor ad Section 230). That immunity does have its social costs and risks.
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