Blog #1: News Assignment #2

"Sweep of Myspace Nets 90,000 Sexual Predators; Legislators Working to Limit Site Access for Kids"
Kerry Cavanaugh WBAL-TV
2/4/09
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29007464/

Last year when the social networking sites of Mspace and Facebook agreed to use stricter safety standerds concerning the safeguarding of their younger users, they anticipated to find less than half the number of sex offenders that was discovered. Since a good percentage of the users ( an estimated 170 million people) of these sites are children or young teenagers this is a fairly shocking number. Many, including the Attorney General of Maryland Doug Gansler are pushing for even more stringent restrictions regarding who is allowed on these sites. While it is all well and good that Myspace and Face book employes software that "takes the names, physical traits and other distinctive characteristics of sex offenders and compares them to MySpace members", it may not be enough in the opinion of many concened parents. Like in most things people find a way around the restictions the world thorws up infront of them. In this instance sexual predators may simply setup a false account with bogus information and someone else's picture (or no picture at all). Mr. Gansler echos this disturbing thought by stating outright that any child under the age of fourteen years should be restricted from the two sites altogether. In his opinion if you "reduce the supply, you'll reduce the demand". Others, primarily children under said fourteen years of age, argue that they can set there profiles to private and accept only people they know to become "fiends"; all others they can mark as spam or delete. For the time being owever, Myspace and Facebook are making due with the better age verification software already in place and banning known sex offenders.

I personally applaude the measures that legislators have taken in making these social networking sites a safer place for all. However I have to look at the whole thing in a slightly pesimestic view. As stated before people find ways around the barriers that the world throws in their way, and this is true be their desires are for good or ill. If laws are passed that ban children under the age of fourteen from making accounts on these sites, all they have to do is lie about their age to get around that. Or say that in the future that Myspace requires a vadild credit card number or some such verification of adulthood all they need to do is to lift one out of mom's purse or dad's wallet and slip it back again. My point is simply this: while I am all for the better policing of these sites the limiting of access will accomplish little or nothing in the long run. Instead we should concentrate more on instilling the common sense in our children that will keep them safe on the net. Take the time to talk to them about what could happen and don't sugarcoat things. Also periodicall check with them as to whom they are talking to online so that you are kept in the loop. Finally encourage them to get involved in activities in the real world with their friends, their school, or your religous institution. In my own mind these safegards are far better than can be provided by any software...thus far.