29,000 Deleted

This will make you feel all warm and fuzzy...

MySpace, the social networking website immensely popular with young people, has deleted the profiles of 29,000 convicted sex offenders.

The minimum age to register on MySpace is 14 — although users are free to provide whatever age they want.

This is more than four times the 7,000 the company said it had deleted in May, and marks a significant tightening of its defences against online predators, following criticism from US authorities. All of those barred are thought to be based in the US.

The company, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, said it hoped other social networking sites would follow its lead.

"We're pleased that we've successfully identified and removed registered sex offenders from our site and hope that other social networking sites follow our lead," said Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace's chief security officer.

The new total was released yesterday by two state attorney generals in the US who have been at the forefront of the campaign to protect children on the internet.

"The exploding epidemic of sex offender profiles on MySpace - 29,000 and counting - screams for action," said Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut attorney general

A series of high-profile legal actions brought by the parents of teenagers abused by people they met on MySpace appear to have convinced the Los Angeles-based firm of the need for tighter restrictions.

Visitors to teen-oriented sites such as MySpace are encouraged to make new friends by exchanging messages and setting up their own personal pages.

Their rapid growth has raised concern on both sides of the Atlantic that they are far too open to exploitation by paedophiles and other sexual predators.

In Britain, the Home Office is considering ordering social networking sites to run adverts for the police so that younger users can report suspicious encounters.

Other options being considered include more stringent checks on age and identity. The minimum age to register on MySpace is 14 — although users are free to provide whatever age they want.

Last year, the service made it impossible for members aged 18 or older to contact 14- to 15-year-old members without knowing their email addresses.

The company is also developing software to allow parents to monitor their children's use of the site.

That's lovely. What's the world coming to when even MySpace has to deal with predators using it like a hunting ground for their sick hobbies? Not to say MySpace hasn't had sexual predators on there at all, but 29,000?

That makes me want to delete my and my younger step-sister's account and set at the door with a shotgun if one of her MySpace buddies pulls up in the driveway and a older man steps out.

I've been saying for years that MySpace is a haven for pedophiles, but everyone thought I was crazy for even suggesting it.

I do, however, agree with this statement:

In a case in Texas last year, a judge ruled that the company should not be held responsible after another underage girl - referred to as "Julie Doe" in court papers - was assaulted by a man she met on the site. "If anyone had a duty to protect Julie Doe, it was her parents, not MySpace," the judge wrote.


Parents need to get with it. If computers are what their kid is into, don't put your head in the sand. Learn about them. Watch your freaking kids.

All these parents who fuck up bad enough to make national news are ruining the fun for everyone who is old enough to know better. My biggest arguement is video games. Some mentally screwed up 16 year old plays violent games and does something stupid like bring a real gun to school and all of a sudden we have people like Hillary Clinton damning the game instead of blaming the parents.

Lieberman and Clinton, keep your filthy paws off my Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. [END PSEUDO POLITICAL RANT]

As for this MySpace junk... yeah, like I said before - parents: learn about this stuff. Stop being ignorant. My brother-in-law is actually afraid of the techonological future for his daughter. He's rather on top of the tech game now, but in 12-14 years will he still be able to keep up? Even my own knowledge of it is starting to fall off. I used to know a lot about computers, the internet and all that. Now - hell I'm better than most, but not great.

Yeah that's why the public library here banned the use of My Space completely so I can understand that.

I can see the reason they did that, but it's really dumb in my opinion. Computer users, whether kids or adults, should know better. If the kids don't, their parents should teach them about the dangers and not to give out too much personal information. It is a public library, computers there for people who don't have access to a computer. Someone may want a profile but not have a computer? Library would be a good place to get one...

Yeah I agree with you there, but this place and this town has a bad habit of trying to make choices for people and I've had several of my friends say if you got a chance to get out RUN because if you don't your stuck forever, and my space wasn't the first thing to go here on these library computers first it was filefront, "no more EaW mods", and right before this my space deal they took off outlook on here so I can't even check my school e-mail now that I think is a joke. But yeah your right people should be more responsable and that is what gets us all screwed because those who don't mess up pay for right along with those that do.

Ek, I've never liked MySpace, as if I don't waste enough time on the computer here but it doesn't suprise me that the number is that high, seeing as how there are so many registered, and unregistered, offenders out there. As with whose fault it is, it always comes down to the parents needing to teach their kids not to take candy from a stranger

Well said Aabsdu!

I DO FEEL WARM AND FUZZY!

thx Kain

Unfortunately parents have been abdicating responsibility for the raising of their kids for years. They want the schools to do it because moms had to go to work for the families to make ends meet, and parents got in the habit of blaming everyone but themselves when their kids, unsupervised, get into trouble.

Indeed! I'm proud to say that I had a good set a parents who made dang sure that I wasn't getting into stuff and taught me all about the crap you have to avoid giving out on the internet.

Now they know that I can be trusted not to be dumb enough to try to give out personal info and not have to worry when I'm at home by myself if I'm inviting some perv over or not.

This will make you feel all warm and fuzzy...

MySpace, the social networking website immensely popular with young people, has deleted the profiles of 29,000 convicted sex offenders.
 
The minimum age to register on MySpace is 14 — although users are free to provide whatever age they want.

This is more than four times the 7,000 the company said it had deleted in May, and marks a significant tightening of its defences against online predators, following criticism from US authorities. All of those barred are thought to be based in the US.

The company, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, said it hoped other social networking sites would follow its lead.

"We're pleased that we've successfully identified and removed registered sex offenders from our site and hope that other social networking sites follow our lead," said Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace's chief security officer.

The new total was released yesterday by two state attorney generals in the US who have been at the forefront of the campaign to protect children on the internet.

"The exploding epidemic of sex offender profiles on MySpace - 29,000 and counting - screams for action," said Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut attorney general

A series of high-profile legal actions brought by the parents of teenagers abused by people they met on MySpace appear to have convinced the Los Angeles-based firm of the need for tighter restrictions.

Visitors to teen-oriented sites such as MySpace are encouraged to make new friends by exchanging messages and setting up their own personal pages.

Their rapid growth has raised concern on both sides of the Atlantic that they are far too open to exploitation by paedophiles and other sexual predators.

In Britain, the Home Office is considering ordering social networking sites to run adverts for the police so that younger users can report suspicious encounters.

Other options being considered include more stringent checks on age and identity. The minimum age to register on MySpace is 14 — although users are free to provide whatever age they want.

Last year, the service made it impossible for members aged 18 or older to contact 14- to 15-year-old members without knowing their email addresses.

The company is also developing software to allow parents to monitor their children's use of the site.



So that is where my account went

j/k

So that is where my account went 

j/k




Probably the funniest thing I read today!

Myspace should hand over Ip addresses to the police. Let the police track them down and prosecute them.

That is a good idea, and I've heard of that happening before.

Dude, Scyrone, that is hilarious. I love you <3

Haha, watch Scyrone be a 13 year old.

:blink:

So, the system does work.. its good to know that they are catching these people, even the high profile actor types.

News Story

Not sure what to make of his "research" excuses but meh... shows that people are actually looking for, and fiinding, people who look at these pictures.

lol, i don't know What I was thinking at the time.