Attorney General Jack Conway issued the following statement regarding his cybersafety legislation:

“The response from citizens, prosecutors, law-enforcement officers and members of the General Assembly to House Bill 367 was tremendous. This bipartisan legislation that would have protected Kentucky kids from online predators, which had passed the House by a vote of 94-0, was not passed during the final hours of the 2008 General Assembly, despite assurances from members of the Senate that it would receive a floor vote.  I am disappointed for Kentucky families that this legislation, which would have brought our laws up-to-date with changes in technology, did not make its way to Gov. Steve Beshear’s desk for his signature. I will continue to push for this legislation in every corner of our Commonwealth to ensure its future passage.”

House Bill 367

• Would have prohibited registered sex offenders from using social-networking websites that are frequented by minors, like MySpace and Facebook;
• Required that sex offenders update their email addresses and online identifiers with the registry;
• Created a searchable database of registered sex offender email addresses;
• Amended Kentucky’s stalking statute to include cyberstalking;
• Clarified that is a crime for a person to transmit live sexually explicit images of themselves to minors over the Internet; and
• Would have allowed prosecutors and police to seize personal property, such as a computer or car, that had been used in the commission of online sexual offenses against children.

In addition to the cybersafety legislation, Attorney General Conway has pledged to create an Internet Crimes Unit that will soon be operational. The group will investigate crimes committed online, from scams to solicitation of minors.

For more information about cybersafety, visit www.ag.ky.gov/cybersafety