Posts by WCSpeaks

US Supreme Court set to kill Twitter, Facebook ban for sex offenders

Re: Let's extend the stupidity

I can't recall the case name, but I remember a judge that likened banning convicted sex offenders from using the Internet totally, even if their crime involved the use of the Internet, was like telling someone who committed mail fraud that they could never receive or send mail ever again or like telling someone who committed fraud via telephone that they could never own, possess or use a telephone ever again.

If this ruling gets overturned, it will, as I understand it, attach a very strong First Amendment free speech liberty interest to Internet access as a whole since most everything is moving to an on-line format. Largely gone are the days where one can just walk into a factory and fill out an application for a job. Most businesses want you to apply on-line. So saying registered citizens can't use the Internet or social media is pretty much ensuring they'll never be able to rebuild a normal life.

Re: So Facebook allows users to id suspected sex offenders to moderators?

I only hope that when the S.C.O.T.U.S. hands down its ruling on this most important free speech issue it will be sure to rule the ban unconstitutional for those offenders who are on parole supervision or more seriously on lifetime supervision. The victory would be important for curbing the government's right to strip segments of society of basic constitutional rights, but it would be hollow if the ruling exempts those offenders on parole or lifetime state supervision. I hope this will be overturned for ALL offenders regardless of their parole or lifetime supervision status.

As this article states, Facebook has their own ban in place for registrants. How will this affect them? I mean a private business has the right to deny service to whomever. Will this force them to drop that policy against registered citizens? If the ban on social media gets shot down cold, then a registrant is going to have to sue Facebook for discrimination against sex offenders and that will be a hard one to win because as I understand discrimination law you have to be discriminated against because of race, gender, sexual orientation, political beliefs, or religious beliefs. Being a convicted felon does not fall under any of these protected classes.