The Wall Street Journal-20080115-MySpace Sets Changes to Foil Sexual Predators- -1-
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MySpace Sets Changes to Foil Sexual Predators; [1]
Under pressure from a number of state attorneys general, MySpace.com has agreed to an array of site-design and policy changes designed to keep criminals and sexual predators off its site.
MySpace yesterday outlined the measures, including giving parents the right to submit children's email addresses to the site for blocking and automatically making a greater number of profiles private. The site is also taking steps to improve handling of customer complaints and has agreed to an outside review of its complaint response procedures. Some of the changes have already gone into effect.
The changes were unveiled at a news conference jointly held by MySpace and a team of state attorneys general, representing every state except Texas, who said they hoped the new features would serve as a template for other social-networking sites. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott didn't support the agreement because he felt it consisted of "remedial measures" that were "too vague," according to a letter he sent MySpace and released to news media.
As social networking has grown to be one of the most popular Internet activities, complaints of criminal use of sites to meet and stalk victims have grown. MySpace has drawn particular attention: State officials say they have uncovered a high number of sexual predators and criminals using the site.
State attorneys general have harshly criticized MySpace for not policing itself more seriously. Last year eight states issued a joint statement calling for changes at the site. MySpace is owned by News Corp., which also owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
Some states have been weighing bills that would restrict access to social-networking sites under certain conditions or have considered legal action. MySpace's agreement, the result of nearly two years of discussion between the site and the states, could forestall such moves, although it doesn't guarantee states won't take further action.
Yesterday, in an interview, MySpace's chief security officer, Hemanshu Nigam, said MySpace agreed to more comprehensive policies, including creating a task force to research new age-verification tools, because it believes new technologies could make the work feasible.
"Today we are recognizing that the landscape changes over time and new researchers come up with new ideas," says Mr. Nigam.
