MySpace’s Problematic Safety Plan

After weathering years of accusations that sexual predators use MySpace to find young victims, the site has announced a purported safety agreement with 49 states.

But some aspects of this agreement will be very difficult to implement. What's more, they raise significant First Amendment concerns. Much of the pact is centered around keeping people younger than 14 off the site and limiting the ability of other teens to make their profiles public.
Currently, while MySpace officially bans users younger than 14, the site has no way to verify age. The company says it will create a task force to investigate better age verification technology, but it seems unlikely that tech-savvy youngsters won't be able to get around such systems once they're developed.

MySpace also says it will create an e-mail registry allowing parents to ban their children from the site -- which only works if minors don't have the wherewithal to create email accounts their parents don't know about.
But as a legal matter, teens have a constitutional right to express themselves. While MySpace is a private company and can presumably ban children from the site, state attorneys general are government actors and should think twice before pressuring social networking sites to start banning people from participating.

http://blogs.mediapost.com/online_minute

Well, we've all seen myspace sites for minors where they've lied about their age. That's not going to change. Even if your child doesn't have a clue how to set up email addy's etc., there's some kid out there willing to show them how!

I don't understand how they can say they will keep it safe from predators as they will lie too.

I say don't rely on others to keep your children safe. At least Myspace is trying, but it will never be enough.

Thanks for the info, PFM. :blowkiss:

They had a story about this on our local news. It quoted a man who let his 9-year-old set up a myspace account. His other kids have accounts also. The parents monitor the sites, but this father was going on and on about perverts on myspace and that myspace should do something.

While his 9-year-old, who isn't even old enough to have an account (if you followed myspace rules) is over on the laptop with her profile pulled up.

What a dumbazz. He'd probably be one of the first ones to sue.

reportertype said:

They had a story about this on our local news. It quoted a man who let his 9-year-old set up a myspace account. His other kids have accounts also. The parents monitor the sites, but this father was going on and on about perverts on myspace and that myspace should do something.

While his 9-year-old, who isn't even old enough to have an account (if you followed myspace rules) is over on the laptop with her profile pulled up.

What a dumbazz. He'd probably be one of the first ones to sue.

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You're right! People....can't live with 'em; can't shoot 'em.

I'm surely not counting on MySpace to protect my kids, but I'll give them some points for trying to do something.

IMO, myspace isn't the problem. Parents who don't pay attention to their kids' computer usage is the problem. It's nice that myspace is trying to do something. But I don't think it's their responsibility as much as it is the parents'.

My niece has had a myspace since she was 11 years old and i could smack my sister for that one. These kids think it's great to pose sexy and portray themselves in the wrong light, it's like a pick and choose for perverts to find victims.
There are various police depts. that have officers go around to schools and talk to students and parents about the dangers of myspace. One of our local depts here does it, it should be done everywhere.

I solved this problem. My kids didn't get their myspace accounts until they moved out. My 16 yo still does not have one. he has to wait until he goes to college. He doesn't even care.
I have enough to worry about

bnhall said:

IMO, myspace isn't the problem. Parents who don't pay attention to their kids' computer usage is the problem. It's nice that myspace is trying to do something. But I don't think it's their responsibility as much as it is the parents'.

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I couldn't agree with you more. MySpace is not to blame. As long as the kids use common sense and don't post personal information or respond to people that they don't know (which should be taught to them by a parent), they will be fine. These new MySpace rules are great in THEORY, but in practice I think they will prove just as worthless as the current system.

Then there's Bebo, and Facebook and Stick something or other. Agree with you all that it is the parents sole responsibility to monitor what their kids are doing. SPYspace is what my friends and siblings and I originally called Myspace. We were checking on our teens on there and of course they knew and went and signed up for I think Bebo? Myspace is trying, but that won't cut it.

Well our 11 year old has a MySpace BUT, her Dad and I are on the friends, have the password and monitor the pictures posted and we make sure it's private. She thinks it's cool to have her 15 yo step sister's friends as her friends, but we had to say no, because their sites are R rated!! She mostly just messages her little girlfriends and loads her site with Joe Jonas and Zac E. pics until it takes an hour to load! LOL

Her brother is 14 and has a site. The kids are not able to use any computer but the one downstairs, if full view of us all the time.

They are not allowed to converse with anyone they don't actually know in real life - they are not to make cyberspace friends.


Their Dad and I met on MySpace, so it's kinda hard to think of it as bad. It's like anything else, it's how you use it.

We don't have cyberfriends and don't add anyone to our friends list that we don't personally know.

My good friend allows his 15 year old to have Myspace. It's from her site that I learned she was caught smoking pot, hung out with a bad crowd and is proud to admit it. If it wasn't for the fact that he busted her for smoking pot (she stated in one of her bulletins that he caught her) I would have told him that he needs to check on her. Myspace is yet another tool that can be used for good and bad.

Actually, the kids get so caught up in it sometimes, they forget others can read their bulletins and that is how you monitor everything they are saying and doing. That can be kind of a good thing. Busted!

Also, the deleted messages stay in the trash, you can't empty it, so you can go back to their PMs and read them.

You should have full access to their account.