Taking a page from the “Pinochet Guide to Parenting,” Georgia passed a bill last week that allows parents to record their children’s phone conversations and e-mails if they suspect the kids are in danger or involved in criminal activity, APB NEWS reports.
The law was passed in response to the case of Kyle Bishop, who was charged with sexually molesting an 11-year-old girl after the girl’s parents recorded sexually explicit phone conversations between the two. Though initially convicted, Bishop had his case overturned on appeal, on the grounds that the tapes were not admissible as evidence. There is now debate over whether the new law can be applied retroactively to Bishop’s case.
“It’s a tool by which the parents are going to be given, at least, the availability of keeping some control of their children and knowing what their children are involved in,” said one district attorney. Such stealth tactics are evidently preferred over actual “parent-to-child conversation,” which should be used only as a last resort.
