Sometimes you read some news that just makes you shake your head.
The number was nearly double what MySpace officials originally estimated last year, said North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, who along with Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has led efforts to make social networking Web sites safer for young users.
Cooper said he wasn't surprised by the updated numbers, and demanded that MySpace and rival online networking site Facebook — which claim to have more than 280 million users combined — do more to protect children and teenagers.
"These sites were created for young people to communicate with each other. Predators are going to troll in these areas where they know children are going to be," Cooper said. "That's why these social networking sites have the responsibility to make their sites safe for children." [Link]
I knew there were sex offenders on MySpace, but I didn't realize they were having some sort of conference there.
90,000 -- I'm still shaking my head at that number. I didn't realize America had that many sex offenders who know how to use a computer.
My kids are too young for the Internet, but when they're a little older, I'm going to make sure they're extra careful about whom they communicate with. By then, of course, MySpace and Facebook will have merged to form MyFace. And you'll be able to scare off a sex offender with something called MyMace. But just in case, I'm going to give my kids a few rules:
1. Do not accept friend requests from anyone who does not have an FBI clearance and a pre-approved certificate from me.
2. Do not accept an invitation from someone you haven't met, even that cute 15-year-old named Candy, who might turn out to be a not-so-cute 50-year-old named Andy.
3. Do not post 10,000 photos of yourself on the Internet, especially photos that show any part of your body below your eyebrows.
4. Do not join the "teen girls are the best" group. It's not what you think.
5. Do not give anyone our home address, even if they promise to send you a box of chocolates. You can do without chocolates -- and the same goes for Candy.
"Net threat to minors less than feared"
- A long awaited report from the Internet Safety Technical Task Force concludes that children and teens are less vulnerable to sexual predation than many have feared.
The report also questions the efficacy and necessity of some commonly prescribed remedies designed to protect young people.
FULL REPORT pdf:
The task force was formed as a result of a joint agreement between MySpace and 49 state attorneys general.
http://cfcoklahoma.org/New_Site/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=0&func=view&id=628&catid=21#628
Posted by: MSLGWCEO | February 04, 2009 at 08:02 AM