Published: January 14, 2008 01:56 pm      

Attorney General Conway announces agreement with Myspace

January 14, 2008 — Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway joined other attorneys general from across the country in announcing a landmark agreement that will help keep Kentucky children safe while they’re visiting social-networking sites.



MySpace, one of America’s largest and most popular social-networking sites, has agreed to significant steps that will help protect children from sexual predators - including the creation of a broad-based task force that will develop age and identity verification technology. Conway and 49 other attorneys general are supporting this agreement, which has been a priority for a National Association of Attorneys General.



“New technology presents new challenges for parents, police officers and prosecutors,” Conway said. “I am heartened by the fact that MySpace has stepped up to the plate and will assist us in protecting Kentucky families.”



The agreement is the result of almost two years of discussions between MySpace and attorneys general from across the country. In addition to identity verification, MySpace has agreed to making the following improvements:

• Allowing parents to submit email addresses that cannot be used to create profiles

• Set default setting for profiles of 16 and 17 year olds as “private”

• Respond within 72 hours to inappropriate content complaints

• Proactive identification and removal of questionable content

• Sever links between MySpace and pornographic websites

• Create a closed “high school” section for users under 18



The Kentucky Attorney General’s office, working with the Kentucky State Police and the Department of Corrections, has subpoenaed the names of registered sex offenders whose profiles have been removed from MySpace. Investigators are looking into whether the men violated the provisions of Kentucky’s Sex Offender Registry law by not registering their email addresses with the Kentucky State Police. These investigations are ongoing.



“I have pledged to create an Internet Crimes Unit that will work with law enforcement officers at the local, state and federal level to crack down criminals who are preying on our children,” Conway said.



Conway and the nation’s attorneys general commended MySpace for its efforts to address social-networking concerns.



For more information about today’s agreement, visit www.naag.org