MySpace officials were given a long list of registered sex offenders in multiple jurisdictions by a group of States Attorney’s asking that they screen all profiles against the names on the list. Under pressure, MySpace cooperated with the States Attorney’s and began screening names. A list of more than 7,000 registered sex offenders with MySpace profiles was released this week.

The bill would require that MySpace and other social networking sites conduct security screening by using public records or some form of security to determine age and verify the identity of the adult giving consent.

MySpace officials oppose this legislation. They feel it’s the sex offenders who should be restricted and punished and those who lie about their age to solicit minors online for sex. They want law enforcement to require internet safety classes and educational programs for public schools instead of punishing their community of users. My space has over 170 million users.

There were several technology experts that spoke out against the bill stating it would likely give parents a false sense of security. They also feel that the identity of minors can not be verified and this bill will not stop pedophiles from registering as kids and continuing their predatory activities.

There are several very disturbing cases involving predators who used MySpace to victimize minors. In one case, a 34 year old man victimized young men whom he met on MySpace. When they caught him, he had maps to yet two more location, presumably minors, in his vehicle. He had more victims lined up.

Q & A - What are your thoughts on this?

• Should Teens have a voice in this matter?
• Is the internet a little safer now with over 7000 sex offenders getting the boot at MySpace.com?
• Do you think North Carolina's approach to this problem is a good approach or a bad approach?
• If it's bad, what would be a better way to deal with it?