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MySpace Removes 90,000 Sex Offenders From Its Site

Posted on: Wednesday, 4 February 2009, 09:49 CST

The popular social networking site MySpace has found and removed some 90,000 registered sex offenders from its site over the last two years, Reuters reported.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Attorney General Roy Cooper of North Carolina said that was 40,000 more than the site had acknowledged in the past.

Both Cooper and Blumenthal have led efforts to make social networking Web sites safer for young users.

Blumenthal called the nearly 100,000 convicted sex offenders mixing with children on MySpace “absolutely appalling” and “totally unacceptable.”

The figures were disclosed to a task force in response to a subpoena issued to the site, which is owned by News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media digital division.

Blumenthal said in a statement: "This shocking revelation, resulting from our subpoena, provides compelling proof that social networking sites remain rife with sexual predators.

“For every one of them, there may be hundreds of others using false names and ages.”

Both MySpace and Facebook pledged to set better security standards after they were criticized for not doing enough to protect minors from sexual predators lurking on social networking sites.

Facebook's Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly said they haven’t had to handle a case of a registered sex offender meeting a minor through Facebook, but added they were cooperating with Blumenthal's office.

The background verification firm Sentinel Safe Tech Holdings Corp. was commissioned by MySpace two years ago to create a national database of sex offenders after reports surfaced that sexual predators had abducted several teenage users.

Sentinel Chief Executive John Cardillo said the firm operates a U.S. database of sex offenders that includes as many as 120 details for each offender, from their names and addresses to their scars and tattoos.

MySpace’s chief security officer Hemanshu Nigam said Sentinel SAFE is the best industry solution to ensure these offenders are removed from social networks.

The Internet Safety Technical Task Force report, commissioned by the Cooper and Blumenthal in 2008, also cited other dangers such as online bullying.

"We're working to provide more law enforcement to protect our kids, but social networking sites and technology companies must do their part as well," Cooper said.

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On the Net:

• MySpace
• Facebook
• Sentinel Safe Tech Holdings Corp.

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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