29,000 Myspace Sex predator profiles
 

Credits: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19936355/

I found this story to be quite hilairious. I guarntee the number is quite larger than that, but they've only been able to find that many, so far...


MySpace: 29,000 sex offenders have profiles
That's more than four times the number the company cited two months ago

Updated: 1 hour, 28 minutes ago
RALEIGH, N.C. - MySpace.com has found more than 29,000 registered sex offenders with profiles on the popular social networking Web site — more than four times the number cited by the company two months ago, North Carolina officials said Tuesday.

North Carolina's Roy Cooper is one of several attorneys general who recently demanded the News Corp.-owned Web site provide data on how many registered sex offenders were using the popular social networking site, along with information about where they live.

After initially withholding the information, citing federal privacy laws, MySpace began sharing the information in May after the states filed formal legal requests.


At the time, MySpace said it had already used a database it helped create to remove about 7,000 profiles of sex offenders, out of a total of about 180 million profiles on the site.

Cooper's office said Tuesday, however, that now the figure has risen past 29,000.

Two MySpace spokeswomen did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Cooper is pushing for a state law that would require children to receive parental permission before creating social networking profiles, and require the Web sites to verify the parents' identity and age. For example, social networking sites would have to compare information provided by a parent with commercial databases. Sites could also force parents to submit credit cards or printed forms.

Cooper is working with law enforcement officials in other states in pressuring MySpace to use age and identity verification methods voluntarily. Based on media reports, Cooper's office found more than 100 criminal incidents this year of adults using MySpace to prey or attempt to prey on children.

Most recently, a Virginia man pleaded guilty Monday to kidnapping and soliciting a 14-year old girl he met on MySpace.

"All we're doing is giving parents the right to make a choice whether their children can go online," Cooper told a state House committee considering the bill on parental involvement and verification. He said the measure would lead to "fewer children at risk, because there will be fewer children on those Web sites."

Advocates for Internet companies and privacy issues testified against the proposed restrictions, saying the broad parental verification standards would be found unconstitutional because they prohibit free speech or impede interstate commerce. The experts who testified also said Cooper's idea isn't foolproof, because children could fabricate their parents' information and purported consent.

The parental verification requirement "makes promises to consumers that cannot be kept. It is dangerous language," said Emily Hackett, executive director of the Washington-based Internet Alliance, whose clients include Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, Yahoo Inc. and VeriSign Inc. "There is no way to eyeball a user."

The bill has already passed the North Carolina Senate. Now it goes to a House subcommittee for more consideration.


State Sen. Walter Dalton, a Democrat who is a primary sponsor of the bill, acknowledged that it won't stop all sexual predators from getting on social networking sites. But he said it addresses a problem that shouldn't be ignored, Dalton said.

"There is obviously a compelling state interest to protect our children from sexual predators," he said.

I'm not surprised...

That's kinda funny though. = /

Seriously. Myspace seems an ideal forum for the predatory behavior.

Use a random email address, a picture of someone else, type in false information, wait for 14 year old girls. Clearly Myspace was designed for pedophiles.

Basically, just look at the creators, fucking Tom probably jacks off to Full House clips from the 90's

I'm fucking sick of having to report almost every single bot that tries to friend me as spam.

OH WOW REALLY!?

Tom is a sex offender.

More at 11.

HAHA. That would be an interesting twist. He's in cahoots with all of them!

lmfao. No seriously though, I guess i'm glad I don't really have any underaged family that is on myspace, because if somebody ever tried to prey on my siblings/family/girlfriend etc anyone underaged through myspace, we'd be having ourself an old-fashioned-reverse-address-lookup-ass-whooping

OK. if you allow your child on the internet unsupervised what the fuck do you expect? It's fucking obvious that this is NOT myspaces fault, but parents. Jeez....

Oh and i love how they say parents will have to somehow give permission...

"im 14, and I was born in 1992 so I'll say that I was born in 1996 so they don't ask!! Wow, im so smart, i figured out myspace rules!!!" They seriuosly think kids that can't get a myspace due to age aren't going to figure that out??!!

I'd have to set up a loose proxy for my kid(s?) for internet use, because even though I'd do my best to supervise them, I know I won't be able to monitor it every minute they're online.

I hated having my internet time monitored/controlled by my father. Too bad I always figured out a way to bypass his gay-ass program. Cyber Patrol anyone?

lol

I wouldn't filter much, honestly. I know how gay it is to surf behind a proxy.

My mom only attempted to monitor what I did twice. Both times failed and she was forced to give up. My kids will be monitored, but not hardcore. I believe they deserve a little bit of space and freedom, but within reason.

as a funny wow video said:"The interent is all porn"

lol