Should MySpace be obligated to take responsibility to protect their users from sex offenders by revealing their database to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)?

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Should MySpace be obligated to take responsibility to protect their users from sex offenders by revealing their database to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)?

by Jesse James Posted January 31, 2007 20:15:53

95 answers
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+15 raves

MySpace will donate use of its database, which combines close to 50 U.S. state registries on convicted sex offenders, to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). The center will use the database to help law enforcement in their investigations.

The company's critics said the measure failed to address a central threat to youngsters on its network from adult sex predators who pose as teens, one they say could be fixed with steps to verify users' ages on the site as well as raise the minimum age to be a MySpace member.

"Protecting children is too important for MySpace to continue taking feel-good baby steps," Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a statement.

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+6 raves Ashley March 15, 2007 05:30:59

Answered: No
"Obligated" No. Would it be a positive thing to do: yes.
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✿♥LoVe AnD Smilez♥✿ March 25, 2009 23:00:50

Answered: No
the parents should monitor thier own stuff
patblue1947 November 03, 2008 18:57:14

Answered: No
It is up to parents to monitor their children's internet use.
Squirrel July 16, 2008 03:00:01

Answered: No
I don't believe it is Myspace's obligation to babysit people's children. It should be the parents who should take those steps and monitor what their children are doing and who they are talking to.
Meisha|Apocalypse™ May 02, 2008 18:51:02

Answered: Undecided
I don't think they should be obligated. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm okay with these people having my personal information or setting up age standards if it comes to cracking down on sex offenders.
eagle4obama February 17, 2008 21:40:14

Answered: Yes
Yes,,, but it should not be a law.
Katie February 13, 2008 04:29:03

Answered: No
Just don't meet people you talk to online....
*Kristin* February 05, 2008 04:27:39

Answered: No
Parents need to watch there children more and stop blaming the internet babysitter!!!
Unmistakably Liz December 19, 2007 18:39:28

Answered: No
The parents need to monitor.
Deleted December 13, 2007 00:37:44

Answered: No
moderated...
totaly hot chick November 28, 2007 15:48:17

Answered: Yes
i totaly think that i this is totaly cool ya like totaly
SassafrAsh November 27, 2007 01:19:48

Answered: Yes
moderated...
Doda November 20, 2007 18:20:08

Answered: No
It is like any other web site, it is to easy to lie about who you are. Take this site right here, I can very easy set up different accounts on here and who is to know the wiser. You can have so many different email address. You have Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, RR, Gmail, ATT, and crap I could be here all day listing them, as long as you can go on and set up an account, you can be anybody. How do I really know you are who you say you are? Unless I meet someone face to face, you really don't know anyone.
Debbie October 22, 2007 14:33:25

Answered: Undecided
I guess my question is how can they know for sure what the childs minimum age is if they change it? You have so many kids saying they are much older than they really are. Or how can anyone know for sure who they are talking to? If they can find sex offenders i am all for it! I just don't see how they'll do it?
Rileymo October 20, 2007 23:04:15 (edited)

Answered: Yes
Why not? I am against big brother 100%, but I am for protecting children... These predators are sick, devious and evil. I am an adult, and I would agree to allow my info to be checked out before I use myspace, so if you want to use it, there is a catchbase so these sickos can't abuse it.
+1 raves
Modena Bobena's Mommy October 16, 2007 23:57:01

Answered: No
I think they should have to take reasonable measure to keep bad stuff from going on, but I don't think it's THEIR responsibility primarily.

I know what my kids are doing on myspace, even the ones that don't live at home. The one's that do live at home give me their password or they don't get to use MY computer or internet service.

I had children, myspace didn't. When I had my kids I agreed to watch out for them, even when I had "better things to do" or it was inconvenient.
+2 raves
PenguinsR4Eva September 28, 2007 13:33:42

Answered: Yes
I rly think ppl should know better than to get involved wiv ppl they don't know i nthe first place, but i guess some ppl just don't think about it. Myspace shouldn't be obligated as such, but definetly do everything they can to help stop these cases from happeneing in some way or another.
+1 raves
Tone September 13, 2007 18:31:12

Answered: No
Age verification is difficult to do effectively, and impossible to do with 100% effectiveness. The best predators will easily figure out how to fool the system and be "verified" as only 14 years old or whatever, making them more dangerous than ever. Blumenthal is a blowhard whose overheated rhetoric only serves to further his political ambitions.
MissPick September 12, 2007 22:47:39

Answered: Yes
When you put a product out there and make money off it, you owe it to your customer base (even if they aren't paying for that service) basic safety. Look at schools and businesses that have to be responsible because an employee commits a crime or behaves innapropriately. The employee gets fired or goes to jail but it's the company that had the responsibility to protect the customer or student who was injured. Same thing with MySpace. If they want to put a forum out there and not monitor what is happening (they can afford to!) and a child is stalked or worse, MySpace should have to take the blame. Along with the parents of the child who was allowed unsupervised access to this type of forum!
+1 raves
Modena ... to MissPick October 16, 2007 23:59:11

What about child porn? Would you hold a camera manufacturer responsible for child porn because their camera was used to commit the crime? I would also be curious about your view on parental responsibility.

It's in the parent's home that the child is using myspace, often unsupervised. Is there culpability for the parents too in your opinion?
+1 raves
Rileymo to Modena ... October 20, 2007 23:05:48

Good point...
+1 raves
Modena ... to Rileymo October 21, 2007 03:07:01

*curtsies*

Thank you!
+1 raves
SassafrAsh to Modena ... November 27, 2007 01:21:30

moderated...
Modena ... to SassafrAsh November 27, 2007 01:52:04

STFU next they'll be suing microsoft and shit lol
SassafrAsh to Modena ... November 27, 2007 01:56:10

moderated...
Modena ... to SassafrAsh November 27, 2007 01:59:42 (edited)

Yes, you're right and yes I understood you and was TRYING to be funny, apparently I failed lol I agree with the point you made!

What I was saying is don't say shit like that cuz you're just gonna add to the list of peple who get sued when crack whore mary doens't watch what her kid's doing online and chester the molester meets up with her innocent little susie and diddles her.

you do know what LOL means right? cuz that was how i tried to indicate that i was being funny! :o)

I was exandingo n your analogy of the additional people who could be sued. Microsoft for example, could be sued in the case of myspace, according to your response.
SassafrAsh to Modena ... November 27, 2007 02:07:06

moderated...
Modena ... to SassafrAsh November 27, 2007 02:15:17

lol I had no idea i was talking to one person twice! Already added ya!
+1 raves
SassafrAsh to Modena ... November 27, 2007 02:21:12

moderated...
Modena ... to SassafrAsh November 27, 2007 02:27:14

FINE! And I thought i was being all nice and friendly! :o)
SassafrAsh to Modena ... November 27, 2007 02:47:11

moderated...
Modena ... to SassafrAsh November 27, 2007 02:53:51

LOL K we could become friends I think, as long as you can handle my potty mouth :o)

I also read the scripture and it was interesting. Thanks for the great convo tonight. I am about ready to head home from work and usually don't get on from home (cuz i spend like 8 hours a day here, i have the COOLEST job).
+1 raves
SassafrAsh to Modena ... November 27, 2007 03:03:35

moderated...
+1 raves
callie July 07, 2007 22:15:28

Answered: Yes
UGH!!! YES!!!
+2 raves
JimBob July 03, 2007 20:52:30

Answered: No
The next step in this process is creating a database of all phone calls between American citizens, just in case Big Brother needs to check something out. No thank you.
+2 raves
Spider20 May 20, 2007 05:17:05

Answered: Yes
While it is not Myspace's job/duty to keep track of sex offenders, there is such a thing as corporate responsibility. Since younger members of our society use Myspace, I can't help but feel Myspace has an obligation to those users to do its best to protect them from harm by internet predators. Myspace can look at itself like this, donating use of the database can be viewed as protecting itself and helping ensure a longer public life by keeping its patrons safe.
callie to Spider20 July 07, 2007 22:17:17

THANK YOU SPIDER20'S...YOU ARE SOOO RIGHT...
+1 raves
Irene May 20, 2007 03:02:36

Answered: Yes
Of course
+1 raves
rockso May 17, 2007 20:28:45

Answered: Yes
Heck Yes! Anything that could protect the well being of children needs to be done!! Maybe once this is in place there could be laws made to prosecute the sex offenders who still access these sites posing as teens.
Jesse J... to rockso May 18, 2007 16:35:07

totally agree
+1 raves
dras May 17, 2007 17:16:16

Answered: Undecided
Just how would you do this. Hell I didn't see any questions that would point this out to your editors.
Even if you did ask, do you think that you'd get a true answer.
The people who visit these sites simply need to use common sense .