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MA Attorney General Seeks Myspace Changes
kaufmanmoore writes "Massachusetts' Attorney General Tom Reilly is saying that Myspace is not doing enough to protect children from sexual predators and is calling for action. The biggest proposal is to change the minimum age from 14 to 18 with an age verification system, but also to respond to all reports of inappropriate content within 24 hours and significantly raise the number of staff who review images and content." From the article: "The arrest Tuesday of a 27-year-old man in Connecticut on charges of illegal sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl he met through MySpace underlines the risks of the fast-growing Internet site that boasts about 60 million members."
I have two teenage daughters. Both of them have MySpace accounts. Neither of them is meeting mysterious men online.
Those girls are my responsibility. I can't expect them to make sound judgements on their own. I also cannot expect the administrators of a site to take responsibility for others' actions. Here we have another case of putting the blame on the drug and not the user. Here's a tip for you parents that think a government agency should step in:
MySpace is a harmless thing when exposed to smart people. It's the uneducated, unmonitored, and neglected that seem to be the victims. I know everything my girls do on MySpace, and they know it. You should know where your kids are going, and where they're at whether it's a physical location, or a cyber location. I'm not going to have freedoms sacrificed because a select few haven't a clue what their children are up to.
It's easy to blame MySpace because it's hard to raise a child.
My ZooLoo
The biggest proposal is to change the minimum age from 14 to 18 with an age verification system,
Oooh, that's scary. I bet kids will have a really hard moral dilemma lying to the "are you under 18? [YES] [NO]" page.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Anyway, thus Tom Reilly's sudden concern about MySpace...
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
This is not their responsibility to make sure predatory activity is prevented.
Is it ANY places' responsilbility (online or in the physical world) to do that?
I'm sure these institutions would like to find ways to reduce that, but there is no way they can take into account every situation that would put a child in danger. When does MySpace's accountability end and an individual's accountability begins?
How about forbidding the horrible web design most of MySpace features? It wasn't cool in 1996 and it isn't cool now. USE DREAMWEAVER AT THE VERY LEAST FOR GODS SAKE!
Geesh.. it's not an Ozzie and Harriet world. I watch my kid does online. This is not going to stop online predetors. Kids will find a way around age verification. What will the gov't do then? Outlaw websites? Come on!
---- You have been programmed by the Illuminati to not see the word ""!
And the other big question is...does this jackass plan on paying for all those additional employees?
As much as I hate huge evil corporations, what I hate more are politicians who mandate this huge crock of shit and then just make the companies cough up the dough to pay for it...which inevitably ends up costing the end users in some form or another.
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
Okay, so they get one site, MySpace.com, to make people say they are 18+. Maybe it might work a little. But, people, we are talking about the INTERNET. There are potentially billions of places like this where predators can hunt young children. No one can stop up all the leaks. The only way to curtail this is for the parents to take more responsibility.
It's much easier to legislate, rather than tell parents there not doing their job right.
Quite sad if you think about it.
....anyone but parents being the responsible party. I'm not saying that they have total control over their kid's actions, but legislation like this implies that "some kids are just beyond good upbringing and good parenting". You see this garbage in schools all the time, and it's sickening.
PARENTS - Other people are not responsible for your children. That's why they're your children. Spend time teaching them -why- this sort of thing is bad. If you don't trust them, limit their internet usage. Keep tabs on where they are and what they're doing. IF you don't like the commitment and responsiblity that comes along with it, don't have children.
the state of Mass et. al. could do THEIR job and catch these pervs instead of off-loading the responsibility onto a company who's area of expertise is not law enforcement.
When we start expecting private citizens/companies to be our law enforcement (e.g.RIAA,etc.) is when things tend to get COMPLETELY OUT OF HAND!
$7.95/mo, 200 GB disk, 2TBxfer, MySQL, PHP, RoR.
change the minimum age from 14 to 18
Er, make that 30 million members. If they raise the age to 21, they're screwed.
Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
So, if everyone is 'officially' 18 on MySpace, sexual predators will just have a claim against accusations of pedophilia when girls lie about their age to get an account. "I didn't know she was underaged! Her profile says 18!"
Great idea, guys.
That isn't going to stop girls from getting accounts. The way myspace is right now, nobody (excpet the people you add to your friends list) can see your profile unless you are over the age of 15. So what to the under 15 year olds do? they say they're 18, or 20, or whatever so that everyone can see their profile. (on the other side, my 23 year old friend said she was 15 just so that her profile woudl be private..)
Why should MySpace care to protect children from "sexual predators", let the government do it, isn't this why the whole Internet in USA will be reorganised to allow snooping.
Seriously what is so good about myspace? When did it become so popular... What does it offer over Livejournal?
Also does anyone see a problem with "whatever the kids like" being an automatic scapegoat for pollies looking for a bit of attention.
I suppose it isn't all bad, it might replace the "video games are evvilllll" argument. Like when video games replaced d&d, or when d&d replaced rock music or when rock music replaced jazz music...
Or how about two, Tripod...
Three? FortuneCity...
How does a man like this get elected Attorney General?
How old are they? I know Geocities is old...
"MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
After doing some research, I found out that MySpace lives in a single Class C IP block, (This may change over time, but as of now this info is accurate.) Simply add this to your firewall rules to block and your set! MySpace IP Block: ------------------ 63.208.226.0/24 - -Ponga
Let's make parents responsible for what their kids do and see online, and see how that works.
In fact, let's have ISPs make subscribers sign hold-harmless clauses, promoting this idea.
OMG, don't tell me... that would intrude on the rights of parents, or something, wouldn't it?
MySpace may present an attractive nuisance, but it's not because kids can sneak past the age verification. (If so, merely raising it won't do a thing, anyway) It's because kids have not been taught to not to leave personally identifying information lying around. MySpace just makes it easier to do, the latest in a line stretching back through the blog hosts to personal website hosts like Geocities, et al.
Now, do we teach the kids, or do we restrict businesses further, because we can't be bothered? Hint: the internet routes around damage, and we can't legislate in the US against what companies in other countries do on their servers in those countries.
A local cop in Middletown, CT posed as a 17 year old. He just struck up a conversation with one girl. He then ask to be her "friend" (a MySpace term to be added to a buddy list). After the first addition, he just kept sending emails to the initial contact's friends asking to be put on their buddy list. The cop also pointed out that there was enough information on the web sites to actually find these girls. When they finally met him, they were shocked to find out that he was this pounchy thirty something.
Anyway, a lot of it is social engineering. Once you get into a circle, you're have access to a ton of stuff. It also happens to adults. ONe of the best ways to start a con game is to go to church! A con artist will get involved with the minister or someone else at the church and then others think that this guys is "alright". The con artist just starts reeling'em in! No tech required!
BTW: I saw this on TV and I don't remeber the show.
Isn't it enough that MySpace helped avert a school shooting recently? How many school shootings has the MA Attorney General helped avert?
How is raising the minimum age from 14 to 18 going to prevent a 13 year old from lying?
Couldn't he have insisted those losers get more sensible haircuts instead? Honestly I can't sleep at night because of that site.
Give me good ratings or I will close down the internet.
So people fill out their age as 18 instead of 14. So what? It says in the article snippet right there that someone was going after a 13-year-old, and that's below the current minimum age. What are they going to do, force people to use credit cards to verify their age? MySpace could put the age at 80, and people would say that they're 80. Welcome to the real world.
Tluin natha Linux xxizzuss uriu olt bwael mon'tun.
"The arrest Tuesday of a 27-year-old man in Connecticut on charges of illegal sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl he met through MySpace underlines the risks of the fast-growing Internet site... "
Well it also underlines that the police, FBI and MySpace admins are doing their jobs and keeping their eyes on the ball. This kind of predation is a risk in any kind of communal space, online or not. The answer is to be careful, and let your friends know where you're going & who you talk to.
The answer is NOT to outlaw communal spaces, or ban younger people. The idea that under 18s should be banned from public parks would immediately be seen for the stupid overprotective reactionism that it is. But because this is about "the internet"... ooh, scary! Suddenly no amount of legislation is enough.
And exactly what constitutional freedom is being sacrificed here?
The constitutional freedom that says "if it ain't in here, it's a freedom" aka, The Ninth Amendment.
I'm sick and tired of people who keep repeating the same old shit over and over "oOoOoOoOo it's not in the constitution, you don't have a right to it". Yes, I do. The right to privacy (except where the government is specifically permitted to violate that), the right to not have the government bully me around (except where the government is specifically permitted to do so), and so on. I have those rights, it says so right there.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
The right to property, that "The Law" can force someone to change their business because it might prevent crime.
I had a geocities webpage when I was 12 and I was never gang raped by strangers. What exactly has changed in the last nine years?
This post is redundant, because even though I haven't read the discussion thread I'm sure over 50% say this as well. Raise your own f*cking kids, and don't blame others because you were too lazy to get off the couch and see what they were up to. It still really shocks me that in order to drive a car, I need the government to give me a slip of paper, an insurance company to give me another one, and both of these have to be renewed on a regular basis, but I"m completely unrestricted in my ability to screw and make children. Poorly raised children are a far bigger danger to society than an unlicensed, drunk, speed freak driving down the expressway.
...my 23 year old friend said she was 15 just so that her profile woudl be private... until next year, when MySpace will then think she is OVER 15?!? What is she planning on doing, creating a new profile every year? Here's a better idea: allow ANY user to click a checkbox in their profile to make it private, rather than relying on an arbitrary age limit just to do the bare minimum to satisfy privacy laws.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
change the minimum age from 14 to 18 with an age verification system
Tom, wouldn't it be easier just to put them out of business?
Terrorists can attack freedom, but only Congress can destroy it.
Why doesn't the government just require MySpace to have a splash page, that, instead of the
"Are You 18? [Yes] [No]"
bit, let's have them put a
"Are You a Sexual Predator looking for some 14 year old action? [Yes] [No]"
Then, if they click yes, we direct them here for tips and tricks!
It's poetry with a beat behind it! And guns! They're like beatniks with automatic weapons.
They'll wait till they're in college, if they make it that far, and use Facebook.
:(
Why should I or any adult have what I do or watch censored because parents aren't monitoring their children's internet activity or what they watch on tv, etc.. Society is not responsibility for babysitting. If a parent does not assert authority, that parent should be punished for neglect.
It's a girl!
What I find funny about these stories and the obligatory "parents need to not suck!" argument is that it assumes that all parents have the same technical ability that we do. Or even the same language ability that we do. Or the TIME that we do. This seems to be the mother of all projections, as far as this site goes- "I could do it this way, it should be done this way, therefore EVERYONE should be fine doing it this way, and if they don't, it's their fault."
Lots of parents work two jobs. Lots of parents don't understand computers. Lots of parents simply don't know enough about their teenager's life to check for some things (to those that do, or think your parents did, I'm sorry. You're lying. Everyone keeps things from everyone else, regardless of their relationship).
And even so, how is this a raising thing? Kids are having sex, and parents can't stop them from that. How does it make any difference when it's some guy they met at school, planning over AIM and some guy on myspace who happens to be a sexual predator? Again, you don't know everything your child is up to (nor should you), and you never will.
Even putting that aside, these arguments are ridiculous. We have a problem of kids being subjected to predators on a website. The state has a duty (not even just a right, a duty) to ensure that if there are unacceptable risks, safeguards are put in place to assure that we've done all we reasonably can to protect the children. This is bad how? Because it'll curb kids' ability to use a website to share things? While I think the child's ability to express himself online is important, I think making our best effort to ensure that kid isn't going to be assaulted by a predator is pretty darn important too.
The "parent more" argument is a useful tool for people with agendas, but it has no logical stopping point. Why should the state have battery laws? Shouldn't parents teach their kids how to avoid fights? How about laws against gang activity? Shouldn't parents tell their kids to avoid gangs and vandalism? By this logic, simply "raising" your kid would solve the problem, but obviously it doesn't.
Heck, they might decide it's not really worth the trouble and just find some older kids to drink and smoke weed with. Like the other 154% of teenagers.
The idea that under 18s should be banned from public parks would immediately be seen for the stupid overprotective reactionism that it is.
Um, really? What shining ray of hope do you live in that still thinks so? My local park closes at 8pm year-round. Kids (who else uses a park?) can and have been charged with tresspassing. Granted, it's usually in addition to other charges involving drugs, alcohol, or vandalism.
Just try browsing MySpace profiles with the setting for ages 90-100. See who you really find. A few even admit their age (some under 13). In many cases, pictures don't lie. I haven't found any seniors there, yet.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
the caterpillar of self-gratification now emerges as the butterfly of crime
> No sadder than the childless presuming they know what parenting's all about.
No sadder than an Anonymous Coward presuming that we should give a damn about its opinion.
My other car is first.
I propose covering all objects with Nerf and sealing all children with bubblewrap until their 18th birthday. Anything less may result in a dangerous owie or booboo.
Only in this way can we ensure the next generation is fully ready for the challenges of adulthood.
This tagline is copyrighted material. Please send $10 for an affordable replacement.
Why, couldn't find any terrorists using MySpace?
Quite seriously. If you can't take care of your kids, then you're unfit as a parent and CPS should step it. Case closed. It is NOT the responsibility of the country to raise anyone's children, except those children that don't have parents! It is not the governments responsibility to keep them out of trouble.
It is YOURS, if you're a parent! Not mine. Not the country's. YOURS.
Then again, why do I bother to ramble? It's just the usual excuse to cut into civil liberties with a petty excuse that nobody dares to stand up against.
Ok. I do. To hell with children. I want freedom!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
is not worry about raising the real age limit of MySpace. Raise the average maturity level of MySpace users. I've known people that are 25-30 that use MySpace and act like 13-year-olds!
... against kids whose parents don't have credit cards.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
...Only outlaws will have 13-year-olds?
Sony ha
The constitutional freedom that says "if it ain't in here, it's a freedom"
There isn't one.
aka, The Ninth Amendment.
The Ninth Amendment doesn't say that.
It says that you have some other rights that are not listed; it does not say anything about what those other rights are. It says that rights which are not listed do not cease to be rights; it does not say that everything that is not listed is a right.
In short, the Ninth Amendment says that the Bill of Rights is not an exhaustive list. That's all.
Myspace would lose 1/2 their market. undoubtedly more, people would just go to other service and the process would start all over again this is a case of un informed people, bad parenting etc......
To each his own.
Some of these comments are utterly sickening. I'm a 16 year old, I have a myspace acount (this is sounding like a confession). I'm a good, smart, responsible person, my parent's havent disiplined or watched over me since I was 9, and they have no reason to. My dad smokes pot from time to time, my mum will have a couple of glasses of wine on the weekend, and as neither of them are hypocrytes, they have both stated that if I ever wanted to experiment with that sort of thing, I'd have the right to.
Me, being, you know, a real live actual person, came to the conclusion that drugs and achohol were exepensive and would not contribute to my like, I'm pretty much straight edge.
I have my own computer with my own password which none of my family members are allowed to touch. I've met up with people from various forums and myspace in real life, not being an idiot, I've always met at public places like tube stations, haven't been raped yet.
Parents, your teenage girls are people who can make choices, and if left to their own devices with the knowledge that you trust them, they will make the right choices. Also, keeping your children from contact with the other sex, even if this contact was asablished online, is seriously fucked up. What the hell can be more natural than exploring sexuality when you're biologicaly ready and too young to be settling down in long term relationships?
I fucking worry for the state of this generation.
You are very much not alone.
Peace, Love, Unity, Respect
That you know of.
Who says they don't have a second account they only log into from a friend's house, or at school, or the public library?
Parents who think they know everything about their kids don't remember their own childhood...
Please help metamoderate.
What shining ray of hope do you live in that still thinks so? My local park closes at 8pm year-round. Kids (who else uses a park?) can and have been charged with tresspassing.
What does having a closing time have to do with banning minors? Most public facilities are officially closed at night for security reasons, but that doesn't mean it would be sensible to ban 13 year olds from using them at 2 in the afternoon.
I feel sorry if you live in such a horrible community that nobody over 18 goes to the park. There are lots of cities in the US where adults go to the park to engage in sports, sit on a bench and read, or just have a nice walk with someone they love.
Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
It says that rights which are not listed do not cease to be rights; it does not say that everything that is not listed is a right.
And who are you to say what is and is not a right or freedom? What makes you able to say that "foo" is not a right, but something like "breathing" is? I don't see breathing listed anywhere in the constitution, should we be worried about the government outlawing breathing? They could plug us all in to blood filters/oxygenators, and sew our lungs shut. Wonder what it'd do for the lung cancer rates.
There are better arguments here. For instance, the State government can take precedence via the 10th Amendment (as in this case), assuming it's constitution/laws permit it to do so, but in general, I shall retain my right to remain annoyed.
Parents need to "parent" their children. Don't "censor" the internet because a few parents are not doing their job.
The internet doesn't molest people -people molest people.
Repant. Thy end is sheer.
That's it folks, parties over. Sure, we're 60 million users, but apparently there are a few hundred evil bastards in this world, so your government has decided it's our fault that they can interact with you.
So go home and write a letter to the following jackass:
and find somewhere's else to go. Maybe that playground with the dirty old man who's there every wednesday, shuffling cards underneath a blanket in his lap. What? The park's closed too? Bummer...
**************
I'd post this on the front page along with contact information including phone number for the jerks who think they can control the world and the people in it.
I'd reopen when said political meddler's fly to my office to be part of the grand reopening.
You are checking your backups, aren't you?
because it's so hard to fake your age on myspace. :/
parents need to watch their kids. instead of the government saying "hey - myspace...age restrictions" they need to go to those parents and say "be a parent". but of course that would be politically incorrect.
I mean, this is one busy man! He seems to have decided all of this at the same time that he's jockeying for Governer of the state!
Would anyone have seen this coming? Wow....
Jerk.
You are checking your backups, aren't you?
Well yes but age verification would be credit card based so you would have to have one in a 18+ year olds name.
Before we all go razz-tazz on solving this "problem", I'd like to see some ACTUAL FIGURES to indicate how much of a problem this actually is.
How many "online predators" are there when compared to "real" predators? I don't have any numbers, but I'd guess there are more "real" predators in my small-town America Chico, CA with 75,000 people than there are internationally through myspace.
Are there some?
Sure.
Enough to worry about?
Well, I'm much, much more worried about my dog getting hit on the somewhat busy street I live on than an online predator attacking my daughter by meeting her through myspace!
Let's determine it actually is a problem before we waste time trying to solve it...
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
The constitutional freedom that says "if it ain't in here, it's a freedom" aka, The Ninth Amendment.
Ehh.. you have a defensable position here, but -- as is the nature of our laws -- not everyone interprets this the same way. R.H. Bork (he was an acting Attorney General and circuit judge for the Appeals court, and some other stuff I can't remember) likened the 9th to an ink blot.
Interpreting the 9th in the same spirit as other legal documents of the time sugguests that the author recognized "natural rights" and uses the 9th to give the Federal Governemnt the power to strike down State laws that encroached on these.
But then, what is a right? When does my freedom encroach on yours? Does an internet user's right to go to whatever website they choose encroach on the right of 13 year olds not to be stalked and raped?
I'm not saying I have an answer, just that there is no easy answer.
Skadet
Senior, Political Science
UC Davis
Sony ha
it doesnt NEED to do a mother fucking thing. its a voluntary services that parents allow their children to use.
:)
myspace should randomly put huge/loud pornographic images on the pages of anyone who "says" they're above the age of 21/18 just so when parents come by they might actually take alert to what their children are actually doing.
if they're lying about their age... fuck em. they're beating the system and are probably enjoying it... and maybe a little too much.
if the parents have a problem with it... fuck em. they're the parents. they should be the decision makers. not myspace and not the motherfucking government.
if you have a problem with my opinion and live in the US - fuck you and fuck movies (heh, unnecessary dane cook reference) . if you dont believe i have the right to say this get the fuck out of my country.
if you dont live in my country - hahaha.. you can jib at me and say "at least bush isnt my president"... then i can chuckle and say.. damn. you got me..
This is the nth time I've heard the whole "government playing babysitter" scenario in which some pandering pol tries to appear sincere by creating an enemy out of something and then going to war against it. In fact, it's the most popular scam out there for politicians
I'm not that stupid; STFU and balance the budget. For my part I'll be the parent and teach my kids how to surf safe and take responsibility.
But that said, I would appreciate it if "under 18" accounts had a second password for parents to monitor activity/check their sent mail/inbox/chats/lockout the account etc. I do have a firewall and know how to use it. I can and do monitor the sites they visit, but password protected sites are a problem to actively monitor.This comment is my opinion and does not represent an official position of Donald Trump or others I do not work for
Dude. DiaryLand.
Choice cuts from a personal favourite of mine, The Paedo-Finder General (a loose parody of the witchfinder general).
The Paedofinder General kills a lifeguard watching over bathing children. At one point the lifeguard's hand is obscuring the logo on his Speedo swimming trunks, leaving 'peedo' and thus all the evidence the PFG needs.
The Paedofinder General executes Banjo the "paedo-dog" for licking his owner's face (a child).
The Paedophile General invades the stage of a production of Fiddler On the Roof - accusing the teacher who organised it of having 'a list of young children' in his possession (the class register). "By the powers invested in me by a text vote on Sky News, I find you guilty of paedophilia."
The Paedophile General performs 'Fire' at a School-night themed disco and setting light to all the innocent dancers in attendance. "You've been molesting this little girl." "She's 43, she's from accounts." "She looks 12 and that's what counts."
The Paedofinder General executes two gay men he spots choosing fabrics. "All gays are paedophiles," he declares. "It is written in stone. On the wall behind the bus station. Where I wrote it."
The Paedofinder General burning to death the teacher who inadvertantly included the words Townsend, Glitter and King when he rewrote the school's Nativity Play ("I teach PE," the teacher pleaded. "Dophilia," the PFG added.).
The Paedofinder-General is working at Snippy Snaps where he confronts the mother who comes to pick up photos of her naked baby. "You imprisoned a naked child in your stomach for your own sick pleasure," she is told before being executed.
Made me laugh anyway.
What I find so amusing about all this is that all myspace essentially is is a web host. They grant you rights to a sub-domain, x #'s of pictures, a blog, and a beefed up guestbook (comments). So i suppose now we have to censure every Web Host to save our children. Shit, I suppose that means no more slashdot...becuase God knows we all have /. profiles...and any creep could send us a message and rape us!!!!!
*sighs*
I mean for the love of Ghu, does everyone working in United States politics have Mental Dysponexia? Everything in the news these days in about the '3\/1|_ Internet Pedofiles' does nothing else go in in this country? Are there no other big issues?
This type of thing is little more than a distraction, a ruse to make people willingly abandon their rights one by one in order to fight a menace that doesn't even exist. Not to say that there aren't people meeting each other through myspace and things happen--but certainly there aren't enough people out there using myspace and internet chat rooms to seek out children to justify this kind of response. I believe in psychology they call this 'denial' and 'avoidance' so what exactly is it we so desperately wish to deny or ignore?
We're trying to ignore that the problem isn't some stranger over the internet--it's Daddy!
The numbers are clear: well over 50% of child abusecases are are ones where the perpetrator was a parent and of the percentage remaining, overwhelmingly the perpetrator was a person in authority or well known to the child and the family. This isn't about strangers over the internet, its about pretending that everything is alright at home--well its not!
Where is this MAA (..a little inside humor there..Heh..) on the incest exemption laws is what I want to know! Why is it that legally a man who rapes his daughter can have state financed retrieval services, get less time in prison if caught, #### he can even get conjugal visits with the child if his wife is made the guardian...and yet if a guy and a girl meet online and eventually start a relationship and all that entails the law punishes him ten times the degree that it does Daddy? Oh wait, I forgot--Pay No Attention To Daddy! Silly me! I know, let's all forget about Daddy and watch Dateline pick up another group of gullible idiots! That'll take our mind off things!
--I*Love*Green*Olives (sitting in a golf car with OJ looking for the 'real' killers...)
PS: I type this using the wrong account name the first time! :blushes: But it was really me both times!
There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls. --George Carlin
How is rasing the age from 14 preventillegal sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl he met through MySpace
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
The point about parents not having the same technical level as thier kids is a valid point, but the rest doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
If the parents don't have time to keep track of the few kids that they are responsible for, how is a website supposed to protect thousands of them? However few resources the parents have per child, the website/ISP has less.
Secondly the responsibilities that politicians and parents would like to push onto the website operators almost never help fix the problem. Mandating that people be over 18, will just cause kids to lie, or go somewhere else. Mandating that they censor inappropriate images, just covers up the problem or lets the offender know they are being watched. the Mandating that they monitor they're site better is futile given their resources. ISP's and websites have one responsibilities when it comes to protecting from child abuse - inform the authorities when they become aware of an offense, and to cooperate with them in any investigation.
The "govern more" argument is good for people who want all the problems in the world fixed, and think the government has magical abilities to do so, but it has no logical stopping point. Should the ISP's have enough staff to visit every website every week to make sure no bad behavior is occuring? Should they have police 24 hours at every place that a kid could meet up with a preditor?
The truth is there is no one solution to the problem. The most productive defense against online child abuse is to first allocate more resources for cops to track them down - some one specialized in online child abuse who can track people's activities across websites is going to be more useful than a lackey hired by the website because they are required to. And second to educate the parents and children about how to manage the risks of these new technologies.
We've blamed the government. We've blamed the parents. We've blamed Myspace. All of those may have contributed to the problem, but honestly, none of them has control. That responsibility, that privilege even, is completely in the hands of the children. Ultimately, they make the decision to arrange a visit with an online friend, or to lie about their age in order to join in the latest trend. Mostly, it starts innocently. I doubt that you can name anyone who would willingly be solicited by someone nearly three times their age. Some of you may be right now thinking, "If their parents had just paid more attention to them, they wouldn't have gotten into this trouble," and I'm sure that some of you believe that. But you may want to think back to your teenage years. Your mother said you could not go see that movie, so you snuck out and did it without telling her. Your father forbid you to go out with that boy or girl because they were too wild, so you pretended to go to a friend's house and did it anyway. Children hate being told what to do, and as soon as the words "you can't," "do not," or "I forbid you" reach their ears, they immediately want to do that thing even more. "Why can't the government put better controls on the internet?" Why can't the government have a CIA member posted on every corner and a camera in every street light? Frankly, the government is spread far too thin to uphold every law all of the time. By being a citizen in this country, you agree to an unwritten contract that you will follow the laws the government lays down. Most of the time, the government only has to enforce the big laws, like murder and treason, in order to keep people from breaking the little laws, like speed limits. You have to realize though, the government does not have the manpower to enforce all of its laws, and so relies on scare tactics. "Myspace should change in order to protect everyone!" Tom and the rest of the team members who do not get as much recognition (and a big thanks to them, by the way), all deserve a big round of applause for the work they already do. They patrol the profiles of 60 million members as often as they can trying to track down signs of innapropriate content. Can you boast looking through sixty million profiles today? Let alone the twelve pictures per profile, the one to three new blogs a day per each, and hundreds of bulletins every day? Let's not lay any more on there doorstep. You might think about being helpful instead of just complaining that they aren't good enough. So instead of laying blame, would you mind thinking of a good solution? Perhaps we should leave well enough alone for a while. The Abadon
I'm usually pretty loathe to suggest government intervention (into anything short of Lord of the Flies level degeneracy, anyway), but c'mon... *somebody* had to finally address the horrid, horrid HTML, color schemes, embedded whoknowswhat, RaNdOMmIxEd!CaSiNg, and PONIES!.
Pi Ran Out
The age of consent, in many states is less than 18, possibly as low as 16. Now, the age of consent as it relates to pornography is 18, regardless. The problem here is that young girls are listing themselves here for sexual activity, which is considered pornography. This is the situation with many personal ads websites, and such. This is really a confusing issue, and I think there probably needs no be reform.
-=Zeus=And=Hades=-
We must ban anyone under 18 from playing there...
W.T.F.?
It's not MySpace job to police what the kids are doing. It's the parents job. Obviously the issue is big enough to be in the media, so parents have every posibility of being aware. If they choose not to check up on their kids and see what they are doing/where they are going, that is their fault, not MySpace, not the internet, not TV, not video games. The parents. I get inredibly sick of seeing/hearing the blame passed around for utter lack of parental supervision and responsibility. Of course with so many kids having kids, nd all the older parents stuck trying to appear "cool" to their kids, it's no wonder we're where we are at. Kids that have kids quickly learn how tough having a kid is, and don't wanna drop the party life they had, so the kid doesn't get the parenting it needs. The parents stuck in mid-life crisis mode are just too blinded by their own attempts to be young again to see the problems. America > Toilet > Flush > Hell
Reilly is running for MA's governor in 2006, and is the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee. It's even odds that this is a political stunt designed to pander to the "values" voters who might otherwise consider voting for the presumptive Republican nominee, Lt. Governor Healy.
</cynicism>
But seriously, a lot of people fail to realize just how powerful a large social networks like MySpace can be. I do web mining research for a professor at my university, and wow, MySpace just contains a HUGE wealth of data to play with..
Anyway, I came across this article a while ago, and I thought it was really interesting. It basically talks about how society has clamped down on public and social space for youth, and how online space is really all youth have now..
"Identity Production in a Networked Culture: Why Youth Heart MySpace"
Danah Boyd
American Association for the Advancement of Science
February 19, 2006
"To lead the people, you must walk behind them"
Parents, your teenage girls are people who can make choices, and if left to their own devices with the knowledge that you trust them, they will make the right choices. Also, keeping your children from contact with the other sex, even if this contact was asablished online, is seriously fucked up.
I couldn't agree more.
Plus, if the fear of these mostly imaginary 50 year old perverts is really scaring that many parents, I have some statistics for them:
Your child is orders of magnitude more likely to be molested/abused by someone in the family - especially YOU.
Your child is also far more likely to be date-raped by their equally-aged boyfriend.
Teach your children how to handle themselves when they get into trouble, don't just blindly hope you can prevent it all - because you can't. And for the love of god, give your kids some privacy, and the ability to get in at least a bit of trouble from time to time. Their college grades will thank you for it.
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
The biggest proposal is to change the minimum age from 14 to 18
Yeah, cause I'm sure the other 5 members will stick around after that.
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
I looked through the other comments, and saw one thing sorely lacking...
...so MAYBE we should have Internet Service Providers be REQUIRED to block the ENTIRE internet... except for the sites that they have reviewed, and deemed to be safe. (We might have to pay them 3 times as much to get one tenth of the value... but that's apparently what people want, right?)
everyone's concentrating on parenting, and not looking at the REAL issue.
The REAL issue is that you are blaming a website. MySpace does NOT encourage pedophiles. Telling them to spend thier (limited resources) searching through their site and reviewing all the content that people post is ***BULLSH_T***.
Is Hotmail supposed to read everyone's email to make sure they're not either a kid revealing to much information, or an adult asking for too much? OH... well maybe AOL Instant Messenger should review ALL instant messages on thier network too... and blogging websites... and chatrooms...
Of course there might always be a rogue site...
WTF !!!!!!
Get a life, and stop blaming people who didn't do anything to hurt you! You ARE hurting them!
BTW - I've never heard anyone suggest that MySpace did not cooperate with a legitimate law enforcement agency performing an investigation. (That is the ONLY thing that I would expect of them)
myRedbook is not a joke site. What you are seeing is both real and quite sick.
Women sell themselves (often at the "encouragement" of their pimps) at myRedbook. If you think that myRedbook verifies their ages, then you must believe that Elvis is still alive.
I most certainly do have an agenda. I want to see young people grow up with some measure of personal freedom, particularly since I want to see them grow up as functional adults used to taking care of themselves.
I don't want to see my money dumped down a rathole, and making society safe for your kids that you refuse to parent impresses me as just another way to piss money away that could be used for causes a lot more urgent.
Like making sure these kids have a world to grow up into.
The idiots who modded your post "insightful" should do us a favor and close their slashdot accounts.
Tech Public Policy stuff
Thank you for playing. You guessed right. Most rapes are by people put in a position of trust. Teach about date rape before you start worrying about internet predators.
The current attitude is to warn kids about the dangers of undercooling in the artic while not telling them to watch the traffic while crossing the street.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
and you included. When you are young, you greatly underestimate long-term benefits and dangers of your actions. Adults do as well, but to a lesser degree. A parent not watching over their sixteen-year-old is being irresponsible, as young people are prone to take catastrophically stupid risks, as evidenced by just about any teen pregnancy or their high death rate due to accident. Frankly, those under 18 should not be having sexual intercourse. The risks and responsibilies are simply greater than they can bear. A 16-year-old having sex is de facto PROVING that they are irresponsible.
When you are older, you will realize what an idiot you where when you are sixteen. Well, hopefully. If you don't, it is probably an indication that you remain an idiot. You will probably appreciate your parents a lot more, too.
This is a 18+ site and kids like you without a credit card aren't supposed to be here. Geez, you would think the admins would take better care.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
The next stage in age verification requirements? I mean, it has surely happened soemwhere, than a 26 year old man has been able to place a telephone call to an innocent 4 year old girl. We have to make sure this is no longer possible! (for the fathers of 4 year old girls: please try to understand that we are trying to protect your children, so from now on, you need to be authorized to be able to call your little girl).
Rubies and Pearls are not what you think.
So ?
If the society is going to take the responsibility for good upbringing and protection of children to THAT extent, what are parents for ? We should erect cloning centers and have it the safest way then.
Read radical news here
Yes, because that works so well now. I remember when they decided to start requiring people under the age of 14 to register and many sites said provide a parent's email address. Now, I am not dumb, and neither are the 10-14 yr olds I know. Many of these kids know more about their computers and the internet then their parents, my brother being a prime example. The system is largely honor based, and the notion that kids are honest is laughable.
I know for a fact that my brother registered with myspace and several other sites that required verification with false birthyears or fake birthdays all together. He has his own Yahoo account so any site requiring a "parent's" email will surely just get it. To think that a verification system will work is just absurd. Even if you required a CC to verify the minimum age of 18 (and even that is questionable anymore), you still will have kids who would swipe their one of their parents' cards and use it.
I think the real problem here is coming down to a lack of proper parental supervision. We had the same issue with television, so they created the annoying rating system, which most parents do not understand, and then cable companies and television manufacturers started to make it "easy" for parents to block channels or certain shows, based on rating. I do not know many parents who even use these features, but then again, I do not know many people who are that objectionable to every little thing on television or who have young children.
The simple fact is if they want to protect the children from pedophiles, they are going to have to better educate parents on how to monitor their children's activities online. It is the responsibility of parents and not that of the operators of myspace to make a reasonable effort to ensure the safety of their children. I say reasonable because I do not think I have met many parents who can afford to be with their kid 24/7. I also think if the government this concerned about the safety of the children then the goal should not to be to force myspace to do your work. It is not and should not be the job of myspace to hunt down every pedophile who might have an account on their site. If the government is truly this concerned I am sure they can spare some people to operate sting operations to catch these people.
They have been doing this for years on other websites, IRC, and other internet communication avenues, so I really do not see that much more difference with the situation here.
"Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb."
Cause if you were still a man or had memory of when you were a teenager you would know that "wanting to get to know her as a person" is a pickup line. It is what you tell them to get them drop their pants.
/. troll and all, but not all men are as big of jerks as your former boyfriends have been. Keep looking, and try to work through the trauma of your previous relationships / rape / whatever skewed your impression of men.
This may be difficult to understand, being a
But then, what is a right? When does my freedom encroach on yours? Does an internet user's right to go to whatever website they choose encroach on the right of 13 year olds not to be stalked and raped?
You're confusing "right to go to a website" with "must be forced to go to a website". People still have the choice not to go to Myspace if they think it's so dangerous. And stalking and rape would still be illegal, so this doesn't effect that right anyway.
He used his handcuffs, THEN they had wild sex!
Ok, bad joke. The girls joined the cop for a few (I don't know if they still do it) lectures to students about the dangers of MySpace, the internet, and publishing personal information. That's all that was said on the program.
Thinking about it overnight, I think it was on that NBC "Dateline" show. They've been doig this series on predators.
Anything to keep us from having to raise our kids...Senators please save us from our own responsibility! As a father of a 2-year old there are few things I fear more than some skeezy guy in a windowless Econoline prowling the streets or the chat rooms looking to capitalized on a lapse in my parenting, but I don't blame Ford for the van he drives, or Snickers for the candy bars he uses to lure victims into cars. I blame him. And myself for not teaching my kids better. makes a person want to become a Libertarian and just let everyone do whatever the f they want.
MOD PARENT DOWN,obviously clueless and has no idea of what he/she is talking about.
Sounds like the state DA is just trying to put his name up in lights a bit before the end of his seat is over.
So, a single incident or two among 60 million people is reason to put strict guidelines on the business (myspace) and users themselves? I don't think the owner of a large arcade is forced to do age checks at the door and only allow adults into his store. I could go on and on with examples like this.
Of course it is possible for a 50-year-old to have a loving relationship with a teen. Strange, but possible. My contention is that with so many decades between then in age and experience there is far less chance of them having enough interests/friends/activites to enable them to develop a close relationship if his goal is to get into her pants. A 50-year-old who actively pursues a 17-year-old girl for sex is acting far enough out of the social norm as to be dangerous, in my opinion.
Not at all. The 17-year-old(s) (they were older) who took advantage of my daughter's unconscious body are slime. It was also a 17-year-old boy who pulled them off her when he saw it and brought her home. Not the kind of old man that wants to get into a 17-year-old girl's pants. Her naked, unconscious body would have been a dream come true!As I said in my previous post, you have to consider the people and the situation involved and wing it from there. There are no cut-and-dried rules. As a parent I have to help her make those decisions and hope she's got the tools to continue making the right decisions after she leaves home.
"terrorism" and "pedophilia" are the root passwords to the Constitution
I use myspace to stay connected to a large network of friends. I can post a bulletin about what I'm doing later that day, and some of my friends may take notice. I can see friends of friends and get in touch with people I may have only seen once or twice and intended on getting to know better.
Another good aspect is the connectedness through schools. A lot of my former high school classmates have found me on myspace, some people who I thought I would never see again.
Stupid people will do stupid things regardless of the existence of social networking web sites. Do you really think child molestation began with the advent of the Internet and sites like myspace?
:(){
The 9th amendment alone doesn't give you the right to privacy. That's taken care of by several legal precedents, Griswold v. Conneticut and Roe v. Wade among them. Precedents are easier to overturn than Constitutional amendments, but they still have the force of law.
Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.