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INDIANAPOLIS A national civil-rights group said Sunday it would appeal a federal judge's decision to uphold an Indiana law that bans registered sex offenders from accessing Facebook and other social-networking sites used by children.

On Friday, Judge Tanya Walton Pratt said in an 18-page order that the state has a strong interest in protecting children and that the rest of the Internet is open to those who have been convicted.

"Social networking, chat rooms, and instant messaging programs have effectively created a 'virtual playground' for sexual predators to lurk," Pratt wrote in the ruling, citing a 2006 report by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that found one in seven youths had received online sexual solicitations and one in three had been exposed to unwanted sexual material online.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the class-action suit on behalf of a man who served three years for child exploitation, along with other sex offenders who are restricted by the ban even though they are no longer on probation.

Federal judges have barred similar laws in Nebraska and Louisiana.

"We will be appealing," ACLU legal director Ken Falk said in an email Sunday to The Associated Press.

Courts have long allowed states to place restrictions on convicted sex offenders who have completed their sentences, controlling where many live and work and requiring them to register with police.

But the ACLU claimed Indiana's social-networking ban was far broader, restricting a wide swath of constitutionally protected activities.

The ACLU contended that even though the 2008 law is only intended to protect children from online sexual predators, social media are virtually indispensable and that the ban prevents sex offenders from using the websites for political, business and religious activities.

But Pratt found the ban is limited only to social-networking sites that allow access by children, and that such sites aren't the only forms of communication on the Internet.

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Judge upholds Indiana's ban on Facebook for sex offenders

A national civil rights group said Sunday it would appeal a federal judge's decision to uphold an Indiana law that bans registered sex offenders from accessing Facebook and other social networking sites used by children.

On Friday, Judge Tanya Walton Pratt said in an 18-page order that the state has a strong interest in protecting children and that the rest of the Internet remains open to those who have been convicted.

"Social networking, chat rooms, and instant messaging programs have effectively created a 'virtual playground' for sexual predators to lurk," Pratt wrote in the ruling, citing a 2006 report by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that found that one in seven youths had received online sexual solicitations and one in three had been exposed to unwanted sexual material online.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the class-action suit on behalf of a man who served three years for child exploitation, along with other sex offenders who are restricted by the ban even though they are no longer on probation. Federal judges have barred similar laws in Nebraska and Louisiana.

"We will be appealing," ACLU legal director Ken Falk said in an email Sunday to The Associated Press. Appeals from federal courts in Indiana go to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.

Courts have long allowed states to place restrictions on convicted sex offenders who have completed their sentences, controlling where many live and work and requiring them to register with police. But the ACLU claimed that that Indiana's social networking ban was far broader, restricting a wide swath of constitutionally protected activities.

The ACLU contended that even though the 2008 law is only intended to protect children from online sexual predators, social media are virtually indispensable and the ban prevents sex offenders from using the websites for political, business and religious activities.

But Pratt found that the ban is limited only to social networking sites that allow access by children, and that such sites aren't the only forms of communication on the Internet.

"The Court readily concedes that social networking is a prominent feature of modern-day society; however, communication does not begin with a 'Facebook wall post' and end with a '140-character Tweet,' " she wrote.

Though the law doesn't list which websites are banned, court filings have indicated the law covers Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Google Plus, chat rooms and instant messaging services. Earlier filings indicated LinkedIn was also covered by the ban, but Pratt's ruling said it wasn't because children under 18 can't sign up for it.

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Judge Upholds Sex Offenders Facebook Ban

By The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS A federal judge has upheld an Indiana law banning registered sex offenders from accessing Facebook and other social networking sites used by children.

Judge Tanya Walton Pratt said in an 18-page order Friday that the state has a strong interest in protecting children and that the rest of the Internet remains open to those who have been convicted.

Social networking, chat rooms, and instant messaging programs have effectively created a virtual playground for sexual predators to lurk, Pratt wrote in the ruling, citing a 2006 report by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that found that one in seven youths had received online sexual solicitations and one in three had been exposed to unwanted sexual material online.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the class-action suit on behalf of a man who served three years for child exploitation, along with other sex offenders who are restricted by the ban even though they are no longer on probation. Federal judges have barred similar laws in Nebraska and Louisiana.

We are very disappointed and we are considering an appeal, ACLU legal director Ken Falk said in an email to The Associated Press.

Courts have long allowed states to place restrictions on convicted sex offenders who have completed their sentences, controlling where many live and work and requiring them to register with police. But the ACLU claimed that that Indianas social networking ban was far broader, restricting a wide swath of constitutionally protected activities.

The ACLU contended that even though the 2008 law is only intended to protect children from online sexual predators, social media are virtually indispensable and the ban prevents sex offenders from using the websites for political, business and religious activities.

But Pratt found that the ban is limited only to social networking sites that allow access by children, and that such sites arent the only forms of communication on the Internet.

The Court readily concedes that social networking is a prominent feature of modern-day society; however, communication does not begin with a Facebook wall post and end with a 140-character Tweet, she wrote.

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Judge upholds Indiana law banning registered sex offenders from accessing social networking sites

A new Louisiana law requires sex offenders and child predators to state their criminal status on their Facebook or other social networking page, with the law's author saying the bill is the first of its kind in the nation.

State Rep. Jeff Thompson, a Republican from Bossier City, Louisiana, says his new law, effective August 1, will stand up to constitutional challenge because it expands sex offender registration requirements, common in many states, to include a disclosure on the convicted criminal's social networking sites as well.

Thompson, an attorney and a father of a 13-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son, said he hopes other states will follow Louisiana.

Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace have been removing sex offenders from their web pages for years, but Thompson said the law is designed to cover any possible lapses by social networking sites.

"I don't want to leave in the hands of social network or Facebook administrators, 'Gee, I hope someone is telling the truth,'" Thompson said Tuesday. "This is another tool for prosecutors."

The new law, signed by Gov. Bobby Jindal earlier this month, builds upon existing sex offender registration laws, in which the offender must notify immediate neighbors and a school district of his or her residency near them, Thompson said.

The law states that sex offenders and child predators "shall includes in his profile for the networking website an indication that he is a sex offender or child predator and shall include notice of the crime for which he was convicted, the jurisdiction of conviction, a description of his physical characteristics... and his residential address."

Several states now require sex offenders and child predators to register with authorities their e-mail accounts, Internet addresses or profile names to social network and other web sites, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. A few states such as Illinois and Texas even outright prohibit sex offenders, as a condition of parole, from accessing social networking websites, the group said.

The Louisiana law is the latest addition to statutes requiring public notice and registrations by sex offenders, Thompson said.

"It provides the same notice to persons in whose home you are injecting yourself via the Internet," Thompson said. "I challenge you today to walk down the street to see how many people and children are checking Pinterest, Instagram and other social networking sites. If you look at how common it is, that's 24 hour a day, seven days a week for somebody to interact with your children and your grandchildren."

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New Louisiana law: Sex offenders must list status on Facebook, other social media

Much like in the console vs PC, iOS vs Android, and Mac vs Windows battles, there are social network fanboys. There are Facebook fans who scoff at Twitter, Twitter fans who think Google+ is a ghost town, and G+ fans who think the other social networks are for less evolved creatures. In fact, it gets so bad sometimes that members of the media have cheekily referred to these conversations as battles in the Social Networking War. Graphic Designer Aaron Wood is no stranger to social networks, but seeing these verbal and literal skirmishes over social networks drove him to put together a collection of fantastically amusing social propaganda posters in a book.

The book, titled They Wanted a War, So I Made it a War is a collection of 26 posters with a page explaining the inspiration behind each. These posters look like propaganda posters, with each social network as a warring faction. Its brilliant in a satirical, social commentary sort of way.

Each of the posters has an original design that incorporates highly recognizable themes from each of the social networks, like Googles +1 and Facebooks thumbs up. Wood doesnt just focus just on Twitter/Google/Facebook, the book also shows love to sites like Pinterest and some extra love for pop culture items like Doctor Who. Each of the images in the book offers a great laugh, and a sobering realization that whether or not someone likes your social network really isnt that important.

They Wanted a War, So I Made it a War is available in his Etsy store for $40, and each image in the book can also be bought from his store in 11 x 14-inch poster size.

Pick it up at Etsy.

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Social networking propaganda posters were designed to win likes and minds