Kids Need to Learn Internet Credibility, Law Prof Says
Internet rumors can be more explosive and more hurtful than the kind passed along in conversation, but education rather than legislation is the solution, a law professor says.
Harvard law professor John Palfrey says kids need to be taught to sort out information they see online and to decide what’s credible, the New York Times reports. The story reproduces an interview he gave to CBS News Sunday Morning that never aired.
“Schools have to wake up and have to give those skills to our kids,” Palfrey said. “It’s the critical thinking skill of the 21st century that they’re going to need, sorting credible from not credible information. And I think we’re asleep at the switch.”
What type of Internet rumors are quickest to take off? “The more salacious, the better,” Palfrey told the interviewer. “The more believable, and yet something that’s a little bit edgy.”
Palfrey said Internet hosts such as Craiglist and Facebook are protected against liability for hate speech by the Communications Decency Act. He opposes proposed legislation such as the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Act that would criminalize online bullying.
“I think we don’t want to fill our jails with teenagers who are trying to figure out how to deal with one another,” he said.
Related coverage:
New York Times Op-Ed: “There’s Only One Way to Stop a Bully”
