Today Attorney General Jack Conway and Rep. Johnny Bell of Glasgow outlined legislation that will help protect Kentucky children from scary MySpace perverts and Secret Internet Fatties (SIFs).

House Bill 315 has 21 co-sponsors and prohibits registered sex offenders from using social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. It also creates the crime of phishing, a popular internets practice criminals use to represent themselves as someone they’re not by using private personal information (assuming your identity) they’ve stolen.

“This bill is the result of combing through the Kentucky Revised Statutes and bringing our laws up to date with changes in technology,” General Conway said. “I’ve listened to law enforcement officers and parents in every corner of the Commonwealth, and this is legislation we desperately need to help keep Kentucky families safe from online predators and criminals.”

Some highlights of HB315:

• Requires sex offenders update their email addresses and online identifiers with the registry in a similar fashion as they update their physical addresses.
• The bill codifies the Kentucky State Police Department’s current practice of making emails available in a searchable database that is accessible to the public. The bill would further require that online profiles, such as those used on MySpace or Facebook, also be included in the searchable database. Email addresses will be removed from individual pages on the registry because of the concern that sex offenders may use these email addresses to communicate with each other or create online communities.
• Amends Kentucky’s stalking statute to include cyberstalking, recognizing that threats or harassment can take place online and in person.
• Closes a loophole in current law by clarifying that is a crime for a person to transmit live sexually explicit images of themselves to minors over the Internet or other electronic network via webcam or other technological devices.
• Allows police to seize personal property, such as a computer or car, which has been used by a predator in the commission of sexual offenses against children.
• Grants administrative subpoena power to the Office of the Attorney General when investigating online crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children. This gives investigators direct access to secure relevant information that will help officers identify perpetrators in these cases.

The legislation is being presented at this very moment by Rep. Bell and General Conway during a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee in room 171 of the Capitol Annex in Frankfort.