Faced with mounting legal pressure from several states, MySpace has decided to turn over the names of thousands of sexual predators found “hanging out” on the teen-friendly site. But it didn’t stop there. The social networking giant unveiled new technology to aid in the process.
MySpace originally refused to turn over the identities of sexual predators on its site. After eight state attorneys general filed a civil investigative demand, the Internet site did an about-face. Now, it’s not only releasing records to the states that requested them, but is also giving access to law enforcement across the country.
Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said MySpace did the honorable thing.
“You can always litigate all sorts of things, but we really felt like it was not only legally appropriate and responsible thing for them to do, it was socially responsible as well,” he told Family News in Focus.
State agencies will have direct access to a new database created by MySpace and Sentinel Technology, called Sentinel Safe. Since the software started up three weeks ago, it has eliminated about 7,000 profiles posted by convicted sex offenders.
“We’ll be informing local police agencies and court systems of the potential of a violation,” Wasden said.
MySpace is the first Web site to come up with such a tool, and Daniel Weiss, media and sexuality analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said input from the public put the idea in motion.
“There’s been enormous pressure for them to clean up,” he said. “In the beginning, there were very few controls for what kind of content was posted and what people were doing, so I think this is a real positive step that a company is paying attention to the public’s desire.”
He warns parents that MySpace is still not considered a “safe” space.
