TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Tag: sex-offenders

  • MySpace caves to AGs

    MySpace caves to AGs

    MySpace in deal with 8 state attorneys general:

    If you haven’t heard by now, MySpace has acquiesced to the 8 state attorneys general asking for all the information MySpace has on each state’s sex offenders. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have no interest in protecting SOs. However, I do have a problem with politicians putting on a big show and pointing the finger at something that’s not the problem while preying on the fears of uninformed voters.

    For example…

    But some attorneys general urged the company to take more actions to protect minors.

    “While conveying this information to us is a good first step, MySpace needs to do more, including implementing an effective age verification system that will make the site considerably safer,” Ohio AG Marc Dann said in a statement.

    I say parents need to do more to keep their underage kids off of MySpace. I say that Attorneys general need to do more to keep sex offenders behind bars. Unfortunately, talk like that doesn’t get AG’s re-elected.

    Thanks to Pat for the link.

  • MySpace refuses AGs’ requests

    MySpace refuses AGs’ requests

    MySpace won’t release list of sex offenders to states:

    In a follow-up to my post about 8 attorneys general who have demanded that MySpace give up all their information about sex offenders using their site, MySpace has flatly denied the request.

    MySpace’s chief security officer said the company regularly discloses information to law enforcement officials but the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act says it can only do so through proper legal channels .

    Christian Genetski, an attorney who has represented MySpace, said the Electronic Communications Privacy Act requires subpoenas, court orders, or search warrants.

    Um…aren’t attorneys general supposed to be knowledgeable of the law? Then why did MySpace’s lawyers just give them the legal smackdown?

  • AGs pressure MySpace for info

    AGs pressure MySpace for info

    8 States Seek Sex Offender Data From MySpace:

    Attorneys General from eight states, including North Carolina’s Roy Cooper and Connecticut’s Richard Blumenthal, sent what I’m sure is a strongly worded letter to MySpace demanding they turn over sex offender information.

    In a letter, the attorneys general asked MySpace to provide information on how many registered sex offenders are using the site, and where they live. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper signed the letter, along with attorneys general from Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

    In a statement, Cooper’s office said media outlets in 2006 “reported almost 100 criminal incidents across the country involving adults who used MySpace to prey or attempt to prey on children.”

    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. Software to identify and remove sex offenders from the site was launched in early May, MySpace officials said Monday in a statement.

    “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.

    This is how I imagine the press conference in Raleigh went…

    AG Cooper: It is our understanding that the data from Sentinel reveals that thousands of known sex offenders have been confirmed as MySpace members.

    Reporter: Who provided you that information?

    AG Cooper: Um…a guy.

    Here’s a thought. Rather than having MySpace do your work for you, why don’t you keep better track of your sex offenders? Especially you, Mr. Blumenthal. Connecticut seems to have a serious problem with SOs if this site is any indication.

    While you’re at it, why don’t you keep them behind bars longer?

  • California drafts pointless legislation

    California drafts pointless legislation

    Netting predators:

    Add California to the list of states who are drafting meaningless legislation concerning MySpace and sex offenders.

    The proposal calls for California to require registered sex offenders to report their e-mail addresses and Internet identities to the state, which would make them available to MySpace and other social networks to block participation.

    “It is not a divine right that someone who is a registered sex offender should have access to a chat room of 15-year-olds,” said Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge.

    Portantino and Republican Assemblywoman Shirley Horton of San Diego are pushing Assembly Bill 841 in conjunction with MySpace, a massive, virtual community that enables users to share profiles, photos and e-mail.

    Opponents of the bill are claiming everything from free speech infringement to additional punishment for sex offenders who have already served their term.

    Forgive me for being a cold bastard, but I don’t really care about the rights of sex offenders. SOs have the highest recidivism rate among all criminals.

    However, like I’ve said before, this legislation is meaningless if the SOs use fake e-mail addresses and still does nothing about SOs that haven’t been caught yet.

  • More ineffective legislation

    More ineffective legislation

    MySpace and Kentucky Sex Offenders:

    Put Kentucky down as another state that is deluded into thinking that sex offenders are going to comply with registering their online identities.

    Tuesday afternoon at the capital rotunda, the state met with a MySpace official to put an end to this ongoing problem with the help of a new measure called Senate Bill 65.

    The new law, requires sex offenders to register their e-mail addresses on-line.

    However if a sex offenders gives authorities a fraudulent e-mail address they will be sent back to jail.

    The new law will also help sites like MySpace cross-reference Kentucky’s sex offender registry with their own data base.

    I hate to sound like a broken record or a skipping CD for that matter, but this law is all bark and no bite. This will not stop sex offenders from using fraudulent e-mails. The threat of jail rarely stops sex offenders as it is. And again, this does nothing about the sex offenders who have never been caught.

    Instead of making laws about MySpace, how about making laws that keep sex offenders in jail longer?

    Thanks to Jessica for the link.