My Space stamps down on Inappropriate Use by sex offenders

MySpace bans 90,000 users after sex offender search reports James Quilter, Brand Republic

“MySpace has banned 90,000 registered sex offenders and paedophiles following an investigation by online security experts. New York-based internet security consultancy Sentinel used a database containing the details of more than 700,000 registered sex offenders to target and remove relevant individuals.

The move is part of an initiative to make the site safer for consumers. Other features will include more sophisticated ways of verifying age and limiting the ability of adults to view the details of under-18s.”

Although sites such as Myspace and Facebook are supposed to be restricted to over 14’s, in reality, many younger people register.  It is virtually impossible for My Space to strictly enforce it’s age limits.  Young people, in particular teenagers, have a certain naivety about them which leaves them vulnerable on websites.  Older users are more aware of the “signals” that what they write, and the images they show, on their profiles, and the messages that these are sending out to other webusers.

 My space is seen as the venue for the older teens, those that have outgrown Bebo, but don’t really suit facebook.  And as such My Space can be misused by sex offenders.  It is reassuring for everybody involved with education and young internet users to see My Space taking such steps.