Legislation which will require the collection of email addresses and instant message screen names from registered sex offenders in Tennessee has been signed into law by Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen.
The law, proposed by Sen. Jamie Woodson, was recommended and requested by Claris Networks in June of 2007 and passed unanimously in both the House and Senate.
The law requires that convicted sex offenders provide their email addresses, instant message screen names and any other electronic communications to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation as an addition to the information that is already collected by the states chief law enforcement agency.
Paul Sponcia, chief executive officer of Claris Networks, said, “We’re pleased that Gov. Bredesen has signed this legislation into law and believe that these measures will no undoubtedly keep Tennessee’s children more safe.
“We’ll have to constantly re-evaluate the safety precautions we’re taking as it relates to keeping children safe from child predators as they will continue to invent new ways of soliciting minors illegally but this is a strong first step.”
Sen. Woodson said she believes the legislation will also deter offenders from contacting children through popular social networking sites like MySpace.
He said, “These social, networking Web sites have enabled predators to anonymously contact our children. This legislation provides a much needed tool and deterrent to prevent sex offenders from having this access.”
The law, sponsored by Rep. Woodson and Rep. Doug Overby, requires offenders to provide information within specific time frames if new email addresses or screen names are created. Failure to do so provides both monetary penalties and/or incarceration.