Dec 12 2006
Registering Sex Offenders Online Identities
Last week, MySpace announced plans to Weed Out Sex Offenders from their site. I, along with everyone else, figured this was nothing but an effort by MySpace to put a positive spin on a site that has excelled in bad press lately. After all, what sex offender is going to use their real name when creating an online identity?
Perhaps I was a bit premature.
Officials in two states proposed unusual plans Monday to tighten oversight of convicted sex offenders: Virginia’s attorney general wants them to register their e-mail addresses and online IDs, and New York officials want them to take lie-detector tests.
[...]
In Virginia, Attorney General Bob McDonnell said Monday that he would seek legislation to require convicted sex offenders there to register their online identities with the state to help MySpace and other online teen hangouts more easily block access.
MySpace is happy with the proposed legislation.
This legislation is an important recognition that the Internet has become a community as real as any other neighborhood and is in need of similar safeguards. Its passage will be a landmark moment in the history of Internet safety.
While I’m sure no one really believes this effort will be the perfect solution, but at least we are heading in the right direction. It takes a village to raise a child and it’s nice to see we are recognizing the role of online communities in our kid’s lives.
Others Blogging:
- Bill Designed To Keep Sex Offenders Off MySpace
- Megan’s Law goes virtual
- Virginia Wants ‘MySpace’ Sex Offender Bill
- Why Use A Cheese Cloth To Patch A Hole?
- Perverts on Myspace are Getting Nervous
December 13th, 2006 at 9:02 pm
yippee, now we can stop those hordes of child molesters that don’t know how to sign up for more email addresses!!!!