Keep Online Predators Away From Your Kids

Under mounting public pressure, MySpace.com had little choice but to hand over to state authorities information on registered sex offenders who might cruise the Internet to lure unsuspecting youngsters.

But more remains to be done to protect the vulnerable from online predators. Proposed legislation on a fast track in the General Assembly correctly reasons that vigilance should start at home.

The bill would require social networking sites, of which MySpace is the largest, to get parental permission before a minor could create a personal Web page. The parent would have site access, presumably to monitor what is being posted and who visits it. Site operators would be responsible for setting up verification procedures.

In less than a week, media conglomerate News Corp., which operates MySpace, changed its tune and has begun sharing data on registered sex offenders already identified and removed.

Last winter, it built a database of convicted sex offenders and began comparing names with MySpace users. Cross-referencing quickly showed thousands of known offenders were using the site. It became clear that for predators, trolling the Internet had replaced cruising playgrounds.

Attorneys general of seven states, including North Carolina’s Roy Cooper, understandably wanted names and e-mail addresses. Initially, MySpace declined over privacy concerns. Courts long have held, however, that law enforcement can doggedly track the whereabouts and activities of convicted sex offenders.

Within days, MySpace relented and provided the information on 245 North Carolinians in that category operating on its site. Nationwide, about 7,000 profiles were removed.

But odds are the one in seven Internet users between ages 10 and 17 who are solicited online for sex will be approached by someone who hasn’t yet run afoul of the law. And the online dragnet only works if correct names are used. With an estimated 65 million site users, confirming identities could prove difficult.

While MySpace must try harder to identify its users, lawmakers can help by approving closer oversight. Requiring parental permission when children register is a start.

Convicted sex offenders also should have to provide e-mail addresses to law enforcement along with street addresses. Additionally, it should be illegal for adults to register as juveniles on social networking sites. That’s a clear indicator of being up to no good.

Yet the first line of defense continues to be parental involvement. The Internet is a two-way street that can lead to trouble for kids left unsupervised.

(c) 2007 Greensboro News Record. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.