MySpace turns over 7000 Sex Offender names to Authorities

MySpace has turned over the names of some 7000 registered sex offenders to legal authorities in eight states. The number is frightening, until you take in account that there are about 175 million MySpace users. Then when you consider how many of them are young, the number becomes just as frightening.

There are all sorts of legal issues here, the rights f privacy of registered users being one of them.  The fact that these sex offenders have not been reported to having been caught doing anything wrong, the question of state jurisdiction, end so on.

Personally I don't care. I think a society has a primary obligation to protect its children.  There are no higher priorities. I think MySpace is to be commended for turning over the names.

Comments

[Perry P. Perkins]

Shel,

"Personally I don't care. I think a society has a primary obligation to protect its children. There are no higher priorities."

Agree completely. These human toilet-brushes have already got way more "rights" than they should.

-Perk

[Heather]

Shel,

While I am certainly no defender of sex-offenders, this sounds like it could share one of the biggest problems with no-fly lists. They may be handing over people who happen to share the same name as a sex-offender. I have a very common name and have personally met one person with my name. If she did something wrong, I'd hate to be harassed by authorities because we share a name.

[Susan]

Hi,

A Sex offendersmight live among you without your knowledge. You don’t have enough power to forbid a child sex offender living among people like you. But you can protect your child by making them awareness of internet dangers where many of the sex child offenders meet their victims.