MySpace, U.S. Address Sex Offenders Online

TitusC3v5 writes "According to BBC News, MySpace is attempting to block sex offenders by way a custom database that utilizes state sex offender registries. Sentinel Safe will let MySpace search US state and federal databases to seek out and delete MySpace profiles of registered sex offenders." From the article: "The company said the new service will be the first national database that brings together about 46 US state sex offender registers ... It will be available in the next 30 days. MySpace has not released information on its plans for tackling sex offenders using the service in other countries." This is on the heels of proposed legislation that would require sex offenders to keep their email on file. The addresses would presumably be used to restrict former criminals from accessing online community sites, but in an the era of easily obtainable email addresses it's hard to see how this would be effective.

Comments

Of course it isn't perfect

[Mycroft_514]

But it is a step in the right direction.

Yet another nail in the coffin of the Constitution

[russotto]

Another swipe at the ex-post-facto provision that the Supreme Court has foolishly vitiated over the past few years, and one at freedom of speech as well.

While MySpace as a private company certainly has the right to use these registries that way, for the government to set up a list of "people not to listen to" or worse "people who private entities should block the speech of or risk lawsuits" is a blow to free speech. Whether it's _for the children_ or not.

Next story on Slashdot: Users blocked from slashdot for a "public lewdity" offense committed in college.

Re:Armbands

[Swift Kick]

You know, I was almost inclined to agree with you, until I read this:

"For people convicted of kidnapping children and coercing them into child porn, this might very well be reasonable. But for the 25 yr old convicted of statutory rape of the 17yr old, this is quite questionable. Or the father who molests his daughter (and has never touched another child), or any number of other situations that are significantly milder."

I fail to understand why you consider child porn to be more important than molestation/incest or statutory rape. I'm also inclined to believe that your statement that "Most people who have to register do not deserve to be treated the same as the worst of the class" is not accurate, simply because one look at the Sex Offender Database here in California tells me that a large number of individuals were convicted of serious crimes, i.e. not just a simple molestation incident, but things like sexual battery, attempted rape by force, lewd or lascivious act with a minor, etc. If you think I'm making it up, just go look it up yourself: http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/

The bottom line is that the second they committed the crime they were convicted for, they made the conscious decision to become second-class citizens themselves. This was not forced upon them, but it was their own choice, for which they have to, and should be made to pay forever if need be.
While their so-called 'debt to society' might have been paid, the emotional scars of their victims will probably never heal.

Think about that for a while.

Re:Armbands

[NeutronCowboy]

Dude - there are a million reasons why this is a bad idea, and there are indeed some people who are unfairly caught in this. 2 kids in college having sex, where one is under 18, can get you the statutory rape status. However, a family member molesting their children is absolutely on the same scale as the serial child abductor. Why? Because THEY ARE THE SAME. People who molest other kids generally start by molesting their own kids - and then have to move to others because their kids get too old. Not only that, but convicted child molesters have a 98% re-incarceration chance for the same offense.

Let me repeat that - there is no (within 98% probability) paedophile who just happened to molest their kid once, and won't do it again. If they did it once, they are basically guaranteed to do it again. I'm all for making paedophiles second-class citizens. I've seen the damage they can inflict - not only do they damage the people they molest, but they also turn their victims into future offenders.

However, this is neither here nor there in the scope of whether you should track them via their email addresses or MySpace info (which is stupid). I just want to dispel any notion you might have that child molestation can be a relatively minor crime.