Connecticut Attorney General’s Office
Press Release. May 21, 2007
Attorney General Announces MySpace To Provide Convicted Sex Offender Information
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today announced that MySpace has agreed to provide Connecticut with information he requested about convicted sex offenders with profiles on the site. Blumenthal commended MySpace for this decision and called for additional measures to protect children on social networking sites.
Blumenthal and other attorneys general wrote MySpace last week seeking the names and addresses of thousands of convicted sex offenders with profiles on the social networking web site. The letter also asked how many sex offenders MySpace has identified, how many profiles have been removed, as well as what steps the site has taken to purge them, and to alert law enforcement and users who communicated with the offenders.
“I am pleased that MySpace has heeded our demand, now by subpoena, to provide information about convicted sex offenders and confirm steps to remove them from the site,” Blumenthal said.
“There are at least 5,000 registered convicted sex offenders with MySpace profiles posing an immediate, urgent risk to children - potentially violating their parole and probation, and requiring more vigilant measures. MySpace has decided to do the right thing, but additional steps are necessary, such as age verification, to protect children from predators on social networking sites.
“Our subpoena compels this information right away - within hours not weeks, without delay - because it is vital to protecting children. Many of these sex offenders may have violated their parole or probation by contacting or soliciting children on MySpace.
“I commend MySpace for taking this step and welcome this cooperation. Social networking sites should not be playgrounds for predators. Other social networking web sites should follow MySpace’s lead to kick out sex offenders and keep them off their sites.
“I will continue to help lead our coalition of all 50 states in urging MySpace to make its site safer by instituting age verification and raising its minimum age to 16. Despite this positive step, these convicted sex offenders are just the most visible tip of the predator problem, because there may be thousands more such profiles using false names or lacking felony convictions. Additional steps such as age and identity verification are urgently and immediately needed,” Blumenthal said.
“I have issued this subpoena demanding information from MySpace.com so as to protect the many Connecticut children who are using this website,” said Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr., who issued the subpoena at Blumenthal’s request. “However, while this information about sex offenders from Myspace will be helpful, it is not a substitute for parents being vigilant about who their children are dealing with online.”
Blumenthal expects to receive the information promptly in response to a subpoena issued today.
MySpace announced in December 2006 that it hired Sentinel Tech Holdings to check the site for registered sex offenders. Blumenthal and the other attorneys general wrote MySpace after receiving information that Sentinel’s search disclosed thousands of offenders with MySpace profiles.
