MySpace and Internet Predators

Who among us haven’t heard of MySpace or Friendster? Chances are a lot of us have heard about it and a majority of people we know have accounts in either MySpace or Friendster… maybe even in both.

MySpace and Friendster are just some of the many internet social network service providers. They cater to both young and old, bridge gap between races, and provide an enjoyable past time. Yet with all the benefits and conveniences provide by MySpace, Friendster or any other social network service provider, the danger of abuse and misuse is not far behind.

In an article written by Paula Lehman for Business Week Online[1], she tells us that MySpace is currently facing a $30 million lawsuit concerning a 14-year-old Texas girl who said she was assaulted by a predator she met on MySpace. She further informs us that U.S. lawmakers were lobbying to have social networks banned from schools and libraries.

For its part, MySpace has bolstered its security measures. Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace Chief Security Officer, announced a partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to use MySpace to disseminate word of child abductions through the Amber Alert system. He also said that the site will implement an e-mail verification system and an “over/under” privacy tool that prevents contact in either direction between users above the age of 18 with younger users[2].

Novel as these efforts may seem, these measures are insufficient to counter the existing dilemma. Pedophiles and other internet predators need simply fool people into believing that they are minors. By simply typing a “falsified” age entry, these individuals could still continue making contacts with minors. No one would know whether the entry is falsified or not due to the millions, if not billions, of users worldwide.

Strict policy guidelines should be implemented not only by internet social service providers but also by States to help curb this problem. A lot of laws have been passed to prevent child pornography, abuse and abduction but an efficient “monitoring system” is at want. Such a suggestion may not be acceptable to many since it might create a “privacy issue”, but its need is evident. Without such a system, the danger of the proliferation of internet predators will continue.

by: Bryan Tan

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[1] This article may be viewed at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16789338/

[2] Ibid.