[dafleur]

State wants MySpace to raise minimum age

BOSTON, Massachusetts (Reuters) -- Massachusetts Tuesday called on popular teen social networking Web site MySpace.com to strengthen protection of children against sexual predators, including raising the minimum age for users to 18 from 14.

The arrest Tuesday of a 27-year-old man in Connecticut on charges of illegal sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl he met through MySpace underlines the risks of the fast-growing Internet site that boasts about 60 million members.

"MySpace has not taken sufficient steps to ensure that the MySpace Web site is a safe place for minors," Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly said in a letter to MySpace.

He said a three-month investigation found that potential child predators were surfing MySpace seeking chats with potential victims and violent images or content were being posted to bully children.

"An adult can register as a minor member and use that profile to seek access to the profiles of countless underage members," he said in a statement.

MySpace allows teenagers and young adults to find friends and express themselves by posting profiles and blogs, or Web journals covering everything from their favorite singers to schoolwork and intimate personal details.

It generated a blizzard of headlines in national media this year that have raised alarm with parents and school authorities -- from "Man arrested in MySpace.com teen-sex case" to "Sex predators are stalking MySpace; is your teenager a target?"

Connecticut authorities said in March that two men -- one age 22 and the other 39 -- were arrested on allegations they had sexual contact with minors they met through MySpace. Another man was arrested early on Tuesday at a Connecticut hotel after a mother reported her daughter missing.

In February, California police arrested a 26-year-old for

felony child molestation after he met a 14-year-old on MySpace. "It's happening more and more all the time, both through MySpace and through chatrooms and other blogging sites," said Christina Slenk, a director of Web Wise Kids, a nonprofit Internet safety organization based in California.

Reilly, a Democrat running for governor, said his staff raised the state's concerns in a March meeting with officials at MySpace, which media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. bought for $580 million last year.

MySpace authorities were not immediately available to comment but its chief executive, Chris DeWolfe, told Reuters in March that it had several measures in place to prevent abuse.

He said the site prohibits children under age 14 from using it and restricts access to the profiles of 14- and 15-year-olds, allowing them to be contacted only by users that they add to their buddy lists.

MySpace also uses software to identify minors, flagging profiles with terms likely to be used by children under age 14. But DeWolfe said there was no fool-proof way to verify the age of all users.

Reilly said his investigation found that the safeguards failed. He asked MySpace to install an age and identity verification system, equip Web pages with a "Report Inappropriate Content" link, respond to all reports of inappropriate content within 24 hours and significantly raise the number of staff who review images and content.

He also wants filters to block sexually explicit or violent images, deletion of profiles of people who have abused the site, removal of all advertisements deemed inappropriate for children and free software that allows parents to block MySpace.


http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/05/0...reut/index.html

[BishieAddict]

well.. ppl can always lie about their age anyways.

ppl just have to be safer with what info they put online

[skwannabe]

what if they used social? couldnt you use that to figure out ppls age?

[knightvision91]

what if they used social? couldnt you use that to figure out ppls age?

well if people have keyloggers and crap on their computers i would definetely not type my ssn on. and besides its not their fault that those rapes happened. stupid girls who fall for stupid things are the reasons all this is happening

[LiVEyourLiFEx]

to be honest, ive read and read about this a million times, but has anyone ever realized that its just as easy for a child molester to get ahold of children out in the street than it is on myspace?
myspace is not the only place where sexual predators look. they're out there walking on the streets
when youre going shopping or going out to eat. yeah, i will admit that there are some bad perks as to myspace, but really.. its overrated in my opinion.

im not trying to sound like a jerk whos against all of this, because i want children my age and younger to be protect just as much as everyone else. but really, myspace isnt to blame for this.
if you dont want your kid to get found on myspace, check your website history.

its as easy as that.

[janiiekiim]

i think its a good idea...
some of those 13/14 yr old girls display some nasty stuff online.

[Adionik]

That's stupid. How many 13 and 14 year olds can buy a computer on their own? Parents need to take responsibility of their kids. I realize you can't always monitor them, but it's not Myspaces' fault.

[LAELA]

Technically, why is only MySpace named? There's Xanga, LiveJournal, Blogger, Upsaid, etcetera. It's more like the teenagers using them are gullible enough to put down each and every single fact about themselves or something.

Oh, well. I don't like MySpace anyway.

[skwannabe]

^same. i never liked using myspace. i got to make my stupid younger sister to stop using this crap. i told her lots of time. ugh.. really sad whats this worldl is turning into, with child molestors and sex offenders...

[be_mellow]

Just why would people be so desperate to meet people from myspace?

[Tepper]

Ummm isn't myspace registration already limited to 16+? Or at least it used to be.. kids just find ways around age limitations.

[erure]

Ummm isn't myspace registration already limited to 16+? Or at least it used to be.. kids just find ways around age limitations.

i don't think so... i think the limit is like 13 or something... they set the profile to private for those under 16 so that only friends can see profiles but it's easy to lie about age. i actually lied that i was 15 [when i'm actually 18 =_=;;] so that i could set my profile to private... that's the only way you can do it.

[muffinz]

the lito kids can lied bout their age and stuff.i mean u need proof dat datz ur age or not

[Tepper]

how are you gunna make people prove their age? SSN? credit card#'s? there's no way im going to give away any info like that to prove my age..... screw that. There's just no way to stop little kids from being stupid on myspace unless you make it a highly exclusive network... charging money or something.

[eunhye]

people can easily lie about their age on myspace..
so unless myspace demands like birthday identification or something, then that's the only way.. (??)

[kiki]

tooo lazy to read the article.. :X
LOL... can't you stilll just lie about your age.

I remember when I was 10, I used to lie I was 13 so that I could sign up for these blogs and everything else...

[Juli~<3]

people always lie about their age anyway

[Tepper]

people always lie about their age anyway

w/e ... I'm so 99 years old and from Lake Titicaca... no doubt about it.

[ovaltinejenkins]

i hate myspace. ive been trying to veer everyone away from it... but it aint working too bad this is only in massachusetts

[kamui_hime]

yea boston! that's where i live close to hahahaha
i think myspace is getting really stupid its the easiest way for pervs to look for young kids