MySpace Pressured by States AGs
MySpace is supposed to be identifying and removing profiles of known sex offenders. It is supposed to do this by comparing profiles to sex offender databases using a special software called “Sentinel” that MySpace purchased and installed last year. Now the Attorneys General from several states are telling MySpace to prove that the software is working.
And this could prove to be a gambit that is embarrassing to MySpace. From the AP here:
Top law enforcement officers from eight states asked MySpace.com on Monday to turn over the names of registered sex offenders who use the social networking Web site.
In a letter, the attorneys general asked MySpace to provide information on how many registered sex offenders are using the site, and where they live. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper signed the letter, along with attorneys general from Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
In a statement, Cooper’s office said media outlets in 2006 “reported almost 100 criminal incidents across the country involving adults who used MySpace to prey or attempt to prey on children.”
In December, MySpace announced it was partnering with Sentinel Tech Holding Corp. to build a database with information on sex offenders in the United States.
“It is our understanding that the data from Sentinel reveals that thousands of known sex offenders have been confirmed as MySpace members,” the letter said.
The attorneys general also asked that MySpace describe the steps it has taken to warn users about sex offenders and remove their profiles. They asked the Web site to respond to their requests by May 29.
So how could this prove to be an embarrassing issue for MySpace? MySpace can respond in this letter only two ways. Give up the information or refuse to turn it over. If they give up the information, they may be accused of not working with law enforcement to report crimes that take place on their site. If they refuse to turn it over, it will look like they are protecting known sex offenders.
If they turn over the information and it shows that very few SO’s were detected, it will be revealed that the Sentinel software is not working in light of all of the crimes reported. MySpace will be criticized for this no matter what happens.
