MySpace's Net Safety Principles
Jan 15, 2008
After being targeted by state attorneys general for not doing enough to protect minors following a series of high-profile cases, MySpace has released a set of Internet safety principles that received the endorsement of 49 state AGs (Texas is a notable hold-out).
The so-called "Joint Statement on Key Principles of Social Networking Sites Safety" that MySpace chief security officer Hemanshu Nigam unveiled yesterday sets the stage for industry-wide adoption of cybersafety standards designed to keep online predators, and government regulators, at bay.
Hemanshu will participate in a roundtable discussion at Tech Policy Summit in March along with Internet safety expert Adam Thierer of the Progress & Freedom Foundation. By coincidence, another Summit speaker, Sean Garrett, interviewed Adam to get his take on the MySpace news...check out their Q&A at 463's blog.
As background, some of the specific actions MySpace has agreed to include:
- Continuing to review every image and video uploaded to the site, and to delete profiles by registered sex offenders.
- Setting up a 24-hour hotline for reporting Internet safety violations
- Organizing an industry task force to develop online safety tools, and to review identity authentication tools (age-verification remains a sticking point for several state AGs)
- Exploring the idea of a children's email registry that would let parents prevent their children from having access to MySpace or other social networking sites.
Tags:
Internet Safety, MySpace, Tech Policy Summit
