A bill proposed by Connecticut lawmakers and backed by the state attorney general would require social-networking sites including MySpace.com to obtain parental consent before minors can post profiles, The Associated Press reported.
MySpace.com currently relies on the user to specify an age. Under the proposal, such sites would be required to verify that age and obtain parental permission for minors.
"The technology is available. The solution is financially feasible," said Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.
The bill was introduced just one day after a man was sentenced to 14 years in prison for seeking a sexual relationship through MySpace with an 11-year-old Connecticut girl.
"As with much legislation, this bill was crafted after an outcry arose over seeming industry irresponsibility," said Daniel Weiss, senior analyst for media and sexuality at Focus on the Family Action.
Weiss would also like to see the attorney general draft a bill requiring commercial pornographers to verify that no minors are viewing their Web sites.
"There is far more harm occurring with the glut of online pornography than with kids getting contacted by predators, as heinous as that is," he said.
