Posted by David Bernstein:
Statistics? I Don't Need No Stinkin' Statistics!:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_05_03-2009_05_09.shtml#1241579387
[1]NY Times:
The task force, led by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society
at Harvard University, looked at scientific data on online sexual
predators and found that children and teenagers were unlikely to be
propositioned by adults online. In the cases that do exist, the
report said, teenagers are typically willing participants and are
already at risk because of poor home environments, substance abuse
or other problems.
Not everyone was happy with the conclusions. Richard Blumenthal,
the Connecticut attorney general, who has forcefully pursued the
issue and helped to create the task force, said he disagreed with
the report. Mr. Blumenthal said it "downplayed the predator
threat," relied on outdated research and failed to provide a
specific plan for improving the safety of social networking.
"Children are solicited every day online," Mr. Blumenthal said.
"Some fall prey, and the results are tragic. That harsh reality
defies the statistical academic research underlying the report."
Of course, lots of tragic things happen every day. The question is,
how common are these tragedies, and is a good use of public resources
to try to prevent a specific type of tragedy, as opposed to others
that might be more common or more susceptible to public policy
intervention. If the research is outdated or misconceived, that's one
thing. But the idea that a "harsh reality" exists that somehow trumps
actual data is typical of political scare-mongering.
References
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/us/14cyber.html?_r=1
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