Articles
24.01.2007
MySpace Takes Serious Measures to Fight On-line Sex Abusers
MySpace, a well-known Internet social network, is expanding its on-line safety project for users. MySpace is going to send its users, living in certain U.S. areas, special alert messages as an additional way to assist in finding missing children.
MySpace AMBER alerts is a program used by the representatives of the media and law enforcement bodies who deal with serious child abduction cases. The program supported by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is meant to protect MySpace teenage members from the danger of being abused by adult predators.
In recent time MySpace has been repeatedly sued for neglecting the proper protection measures by families whose teenage children were sexually abused by the network's adult users. To improve the situation MySpace has organized a system of the AMBER alerts that will be featured in a small text box at the top part of a user's profile. The alerts will contain thorough information about the case, including photos and details about suspects.
MySpace has planned to supply its protection system with advanced technology to keep sex offenders away from the site. The task is not the easiest one as the network comprises about 150 million profiles and it is rapidly growing. A recent survey determined that among the users of MySpace and the similar sites there are over a half of American teenagers who have Internet access. Consequently, the sites with numerous teen users attract a great deal of sex abusers.
The enhanced MySpace safety program makes its necessary for every new user to register with a valid e-mail address.
This way it will be easier for law enforcement agents to chase possible criminals. Newly applied users will be sent a verification e-mail offering a special link. They will have to click back in order to verify their identity. Moreover, Charles Schumer and John McCain, the U.S. senators, are going to initiate legislation that would make convicted sex abusers to register their active e-mail addresses. Thus there will be created the database consisting of e-mail addresses. The database will allow MySpace and the sites alike to track down the offenders by finding the new applicants in the database.
MySpace built a partnership with Sentinel Tech Holding Corp., a firm involved into background verification. The corporation has to develop an innovative technology called Sentinel Safe. The technology will make it possible for MySpace search through state and federal databases to find and remove profiles belonging to registered sex offenders.
Up to the recent time MySpace did not ask its new applicants to verify their e-mail addresses - the sent verification mail was just blocked by junk e-mail filters. At present day MySpace has been negotiating with U.S. Internet service providers in an attempt to persuade them unblock verification e-mails.
The site has also made sure that every users has an opportunity to make one's profile private. the users' private profiles will be available only to members within 14-15 year-olds' age group.
MySpace is a fast-growing website, with about 150 million profiles. Half of all U.S. teenagers access such websites like MySpace with one goal – to make friends.

Internet social gathering website MySpace will start sending online alerts to Internet users in certain regions of the United States in order to help find missing children. 

MySpace established a partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in order to enable AMBER Alert. This is a program that provides an early warning broadcast bulletin in cases of earnest child abduction. 

A week ago, families of five teenagers who were sexually abused by adult users from MySpace sued the website, stating that it showed negligence concerning its users' protection. 

In 2006, the company hired a former prosecutor from the United States Justice Department in order to improve its online safety program. The representatives from MySpace stated that the AMBER alerts will appear in a little text box, which will be situated at the top of a profile. The website's users will be able to get additional information regarding the case, which will include photos and information about suspects.

In a phone interview, the CEO of MySpace, Hemanshu Nigam, stated that the company has been working with partners and law enforcement in order to find all the possible ways to protect children and keep sex offenders away from the website. He also mentioned that MySpace will provide technology that will benefit the whole industry.

MySpace is a fast-growing website, with about 150 million profiles. Half of all U.S. teenagers access such websites like MySpace with one goal – to make friends. This survey was made by Pew.

As part of its safety program, the website now asks all its users to have a valid e-mail address. This will allow tracking down possible predators. New subscribers will get a verification e-mail with a link which the user must click to verify his or her identity. 

MySpace made a deal with Sentinel Tech Holding Corp. to create a new technology, called Sentinel Safe. The technology will allow MySpace to search proposed state and federal databases of sex offenders' e-mail addresses, enabling the company to delete the profiles of sex offenders who register with a "blacklisted" e-mail address.

MySpace is also developing new software called Zephyr to show parents what information can be publicly seen about their child on the child's profile.  However, the adults using this software will not be able to read the e-mails sent to their child or edit their child's profile.