Sidebar: Who's Policing the Internet?

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Apr 27, 2007,

An attorney representing four families whose underage daughters were assaulted by MySpace users said the site is no different than a day care or a restaurant, and that there is a responsibility to protect its customers.

Children under 14 are not allowed on the site but it's left to the user to confirm his or her age. The suit raises the question: What is the responsibility of a social networking site regarding the protection of its users?

News Corp., the parent company of MySpace, announced shortly after the suits were filed that it will unveil technology in summer 2007 that allows parents to keep tabs on their children's online profiles. The company also placed restrictions on how adults may contact younger users on the site.

Detective Tom Stella, of the North Port, Fla., Police Department, said MySpace responds quickly to law enforcement requests and is always ready to help with an investigation. "MySpace is very cooperative with law enforcement. They have a specific law enforcement division for subpoenas and requests, and in comparison to other Internet subpoena methodologies, they are probably one of the most cooperative with law enforcement that I've worked with."

Stella gives seminars for local parents and counsels them on how to keep their kids safe from online predators. He said the bulk of the responsibility falls on parents' shoulders.

He suggests parents use software programs like Watch Right, which allows them to keep an eye on what their kids are doing online. "There are two ways they can install it," Stella said. "They can install it secretly where the children don't know what they're doing, or they can install it overtly."