In December, MySpace announced it was partnering with Sentinel Tech Holding
Corp. to build a database with information on sex offenders in the United
States.
"It is our understanding that the data from Sentinel reveals that thousands of
known sex offenders have been confirmed as MySpace members," the letter said.
In an interview, Cooper said the information was provided by "absolutely
credible" sources, whom he declined to identify.
The attorneys general also asked that MySpace describe the steps it has taken
to warn users about sex offenders and remove their profiles. They asked the Web
site to respond to their requests by May 29.
"They are by far the largest social networking site," Cooper said. "They
certainly should be the standard bearer for changes that need to be made."
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal called the site a "virtual
playground" for predators. "That combination of sex offenders and children is a
recipe for tragedy," Blumenthal said.
The site is owned by media conglomerate News Corp. Attorneys for MySpace said
they had not seen the letter and could not comment.
MySpace's policy prevents children under 14 from setting up profiles, but it
relies on users to specify their ages.
Cooper said MySpace should confirm ages though services used by online vendors
of lottery tickets and alcohol, and also require parental permission for young
users.
"MySpace can certainly take its own action to remove those sex offender
profiles from their site," Cooper said. "They say they are doing that but we
want to know ... exactly what steps they are taking."
Cooper has presented legislation to the North Carolina General Assembly that
would make it a felony for registered sex offenders to use social networking
sites.
In North Carolina last year, a former sheriff's deputy was sentenced to 15
years in prison after being convicted of molesting a 15-year-old boy he met on
MySpace, and a Boiling Spring Lakes police officer was charged with the
statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl he communicated with on the site, Cooper
said.
MySpace and other social networking sites allow users to create online profiles
with photos, music and personal information, including hometowns and education.
Users can send messages to one another and, in many cases, browse other
profiles.
Associated Press
