Social-Networking Website MySpace Pledges to Release Sex Offender Information
"We're pleased to see MySpace step up to the plate and provide us with this very important information," Cooper said, according to WRAL.
Earlier this month, MySpace remained adamant in its decision to not release such information to offices of Attorney Generals nationwide, citing federal and state laws prohibiting such sharing of information. According to WRAL, MySpace Security Officer Hemanshu Nigam responded to Monday's about-face by stating, "We are doing everything short of breaking the law to ensure that the information about these predators gets to the proper authorities."
On Monday, MySpace removed users who were identified as registered sex offenders, yet kept information about the users to provide to Attorney Generals. With thousands of registered sex offenders already identified, MySpace pledges to continue scoping its database for more offenders, giving government agencies details such as email addresses and IP addresses of those individuals.
MySpace will not provide information on sex offenders who are not registered or convicted or are using aliases when registering for the social-networking website.
After receiving the information from MySpace, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper plans to share the information with law enforcement officers, who will then use the information to check for those who may have been barred from using computers or contacting minors.
On May 14, eight state attorney generals sent a letter to MySpace demanding the company release information about sex offenders, and MySpace initially refused. In 2006, media outlets reported as many as 100 incidents across the United States involving adults using MySpace to attempt to prey on children. To further prevent children from becoming victims of online predators, the attorney generals are also urging social-networking sites like MySpace to require parental permission for children to register for the website.
According to WTVD, Cooper stated, "We must keep barriers between predators and children and this information will help us do that... Parents know that sex offenders interacting with children is a bad idea, whether it happens on the Internet or in a neighborhood."
"MySpace Agrees to Turn Over Sex Offender Data" WRAL. URL: (http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1431898/).
"MySpace Agrees to Provide the Names of Sex Offenders" WTVD. URL: (http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=central&id=5324382).
Published by Jason K
Currently an undergraduate student at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. View profile
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4 Comments
Post a CommentWilliam Long, a Pennsylvania resident, recently completed a two and a half year sentence. He had a prior conviction in 1996 after being accused of fondling four of his neighbors -- three girls and a boy -- whose ages ranged from 6 to 8.
Although we want to protect our children and others from predetors, some people who are down as sex offenders are innocent, just like any other crime, and for their sake, this information should not be public. Imagine, your life ruined because someone claimed rape, out of revenge, or mistaken identity?
This is good news, and a great article sharing it. What would be even better would be for MySpace to publish their information publicly so that non-law enforcement people could be aware of who is perpetrating these crimes online.
BRAVO! It's about time these Internet companies understood the responsibility of cooperating with law enforcement to report criminal activity. It is no different than if we saw a crime on the street and called the cops. Using privacy terms to conceal criminal activity should be a crime in itself. WAY TO GO MySpace!!