LETTER: Limit, dont ban, social media for sex offenders

The North State Journal | Madeline Gray

Regarding the June 21 article, “SCOTUS strikes NC ban on sex offenders using social media,” in which the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the 2008 N.C. law banning convicted sex offenders from using certain social media outlets.I believe that convicted sex offenders should be banned from using social media sites for personal use, but could use them for career opportunities such as the site LinkedIn. If they were to use social media for personal interactions, I believe it would be too tempting to hide behind the veil of the Internet and could present a risk to unknowing victims. However, trying to legislate who uses which sites for which reasons seems very complicated.The North Carolina General Assembly was clearly trying to do the right thing for its citizens, however, for those persons who may have been rehabilitated from the crime of sexual offenses against children, this law may have gone too far.As a teenager who uses multiple social media sites for every day interactions with my friends, the idea that a convicted sex offender could be lurking to make contact with my friends and me is very concerning. It’s a complex issue with a no-size-fits-all approach.Ben BurrisRaleigh