State bills seek parental access to children's text messages

[longnecker]

Parents who want access to text messages sent to and from their child's phone currently need a court order to compel a cellphone company to provide it, even if the parent pays the bill. A state law being proposed in Arizona could be the first in the nation to change that.
Republican state Sen. Rich Crandall has proposed a law to require cellphone companies to offer Arizona parents access to their minor children's texts.
"If I have a 13-year-old being harassed via text, I can't call and get those texts," Crandall said. "This bill will allow me to at least pay to see the text messages for my children." Under the bill, phone companies could charge a fee for that service.
The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 13, and awaits a vote in the full Senate. There is no companion bill in the House.
No other state appears to have such a requirement for cellphone companies. Pam Greenberg, of the National Conference of State Legislators, said South Carolina has proposed similar legislation.
It remains unclear whether the state has the authority to require companies to give access to texts.
Some questioned the need for such a bill, including Republican state Sen. Judy Burges, who voted against it in committee. "Why don't you take a flashlight and go in the closet and read the texts?" she asked.
Lisa Douglas, author of the parenting blog Crazy Adventures in Parenting, said that in her online bill she can only see the phone numbers her daughter sends and receives messages from.
"What if someone is threatening her, or harassing her, and she's too afraid to say anything?" she said.
Paula Goldberg, executive director of PACER Center, a non-profit organization which provides resources for bullying victims, said trust and communication are the best tools against bullying.
"The issue is that parents should have good communication with their children," Goldberg said.
The wireless industry has spoken out against the bill, saying it is impractical.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...xts/53275360/1

[TattdMom]

This is one more reason for children NOT to have cell phones or limited access to them. What 13 year old is so important that they need a cell phone? I understand being able to reach parents or guardians and adults needing to reach them but when did it become a neccessity for a CHILD to have a cell phone?

IMHO this would solve the problem, don't get children cell phones and if you feel it is neccessary, set it up so they can only call certain numbers and receive from certain numbers.....it's not brain surgery folks.

[M.Opaliski]

It's more a matter of being able to access your own text data, that you're paying a service fee for. They have that data, if it's recoverable by subpoena they have it stored.

They ought to offer text data recovery as an added service, say for an additional $5 a month.

[terri]

Well, my 13 year old has a cell phone and for him, I do feel it's a necessity.

He got his first cell phone when he started 7th grade. His father and I are divorced and my son does after school activities. His dad is THE WORST with time management and remembering little things like picking up/dropping off his kids on time, so I just felt better knowing he had a phone and could reach us, a neighbor or two, etc. Plus - his dad doesn't have a land line in the house and frequently leaves the kids home while he runs errands, which makes me nervous. On my end - my work schedule is unpredictable, so I like knowing we are able to reach each other if necessary. Not to mention the fact that it's nice that sometimes, my kid just wants to call his mom - and he doesn't have to go through his dad to do it.

We JUST upgraded his cell phone to an iPhone 4, like mine. And YES - it's overkill for a young teen. But - this was a combination present for getting into Charter, his 13th birthday, and a year and a half of proving to me that he can be responsible with his cell phone. The other part of this deal is that I can randomly go through his phone and see what he's doing without warning, much like I do with his Facebook account.

[Brainstorm]

The craziness of denying info to a parent even where that is the person paying the bill reminds me of other correctness-gone-mad structural impediments to parenting.... like the refusal to allow a parent access to college grades and the refusal to share critical mental and physical health info for a seriously ill student.

I think parents are treated as the enemy and as an improper interloper in far too many regulations/policies.