The US House of Representatives today passed a bill to restrict access to "social networking" sites in public locations such as libraries and schools. Originally proposed this past May as hysteria grew about the number of sexual predators allegedly using Myspace, the bill went through by 410 votes to 15.

The bill is broadly worded specifically restricts any "commercial website" that allows people to post profiles, include personal information and allow "communication among users." Of course, the bill does not stipulate what "communication among users" actually means, with the definition to be decided by the FCC.

The result is that the bill could affect everyone from Blogger to Slashdot and Amazon; even Punknews.org. While a recent Wired piece disputes the charges against Myspace using crime statistics, the bill has nontheless passed with an overwhelming majority.

In completely unrelated news, Congress faces midterm elections in November.