MySpace Efforts To Stop Online Child Predators Criticized
MySpace announced last week that it will implement new security measures this week in an effort to protect children using the site from online predators. These new measures came under scrutiny and criticism even before the official announcement was made last week, as seen in this article on CNN. The article states:
Just this week, a 14-year-old girl who says she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old user sued MySpace and News Corp., seeking $30 million in damages. And earlier this month, a 16-year-old girl who tricked her parents into getting her a passport flew to the Mideast to be with a 20-year-old man she met through MySpace. U.S. officials in Jordan persuaded the teen to turn around and go home.I think it is great that MySpace is trying to help stop online predators from reaching our children even though they do not have to. Is it part of their responsibility to society and their users to make these changes? Yes. But do they have to make these types of changes? No. Even though the new measures may not stop predators completely yet, they do make things more difficult for them. I am sure that MySpace will eventually be able to make it extremely difficult for predators to make it to our children, but for now, every bit of effort helps.MySpace officials say the new restrictions have been long planned and are unrelated to recent events.
Following is an excerpt from one of multiple articles that was written last week by various sources after the MySpace changes were announced. They were again quick to point out the shortcomings of the new plans, but nowhere do I see anyone provide any productive solutions to the shortcomings.
MySpace users who are 18 or over could no longer request to be on a 14- or 15-year-old's friends' list unless they already know either the youth's e-mail address or full name. That means they won't have access to personal information on their profiles.Monique Nelson points out the obvious, but I do not see a suggestion from her as to how to implement changes that would thwart their lying."They're going to lie about their ages," said Monique Nelson, executive vice president of online safety advocate Web Wise Kids. "There's no way to check age verification. In that respect, I don't think that's going to be very effective." [CNN]
Is making MySpace an adult only site in the future? I doubt it only because the teens that are being targeted by predators are also being targeted by advertisers and it is big money. The younger generation is a large marketing target as they spend more money than the typical adult. If MySpace were to deny them service, another site would pop up catering to them specifically. Protecting children on their site is a tough issue, but MySpace is trying to deal with it as they also want to protect their target market.
MySpace security director Hemanshu Nigam said Wednesday that the site, owned by News Corp., is committed to increasing online safety, particularly among 14 and 15 year olds."MySpace remains dedicated to a multi-pronged approach that also involves education and collaboration with law enforcement, teachers, parents and members," he said in a statement. [CNN]
As for cases such as the one mentioned above, where people are suing companies for their poor choices, I cannot believe that they are even be accepted by courts. This is a prime example of how America is becoming a country of people who lack of personal responsibility and continue to be sue happy. MySpace and News Corp (who purchased MySpace) are successful entities and the target of people looking to make a quick buck. My question is what normal parent agrees to obtain a passport for a 14 year old? I don't care if they say the girl tricked them. Why would you get your daughter a passport if you were not specifically planning a trip with her? And it then becomes the fault of these two successful companies that they were tricked and the girl left the country - how's that?
The fact of the matter is that the parents were obviously out of touch, with their daughter and the world in which she lives. In the end, the responsibility falls on the parents of these kids to ask the 5 W's that we all learned back in elementary school - Who, what, why, when and where. They need to be watching their children and know where they are going - online and off - and who they are associating with. If you are a parent and do not understand the Internet and the new world in which our children are living, then you need to ask someone who does to help explain it to you. Getting informed is the best way to protect your children from the world in which we all live.
Anyway, kudos to MySpace for at least trying to make a positive change. And as for those who prefer to criticize rather than offer productive solutions....shut the hell up. It is always easy to criticize, but the real challenge is to be productive and help develop solutions to strengthen existing weaknesses. Let's all keep up the efforts to protect our children as they need us now more than ever.
What are other bloggers saying? Click below to see:
Medialoper: My thoughts exactly!
InstaBLOKE: Are you a Communist, Bloke?
RealTechNews: Again, criticism with no suggestions.
Tea Leaves: Asks the question, "Are we ready for social networking?" Good question.
Comments
Nope, but thanks for asking!
Posted by: Bloke Bloke | July 11, 2006 08:54 PM