A few points need to be made: 1) Notice the RSOs did nothing wrong criminally, only one has todate; 2) Is MySpace a place just for minors, no, it is a place for millions of adults, which all are strangers to the minors they may meet; 3) Notice the comment of 146 this year and 247 last year. Well, obviously MySpace is not PREVENTING RSOs from signing up, but every so often (Yearly according to this report) they run a program to list them and give it to the state AG. Does that really protect minors or is their real aim something else? Think about it!
8-16-2008 Nebraska:
The social networking Web site MySpace has removed 146 profiles that have been determined to be registered Nebraska sex offenders, said Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning said.
The profiles belonged to approximately 112 convicted sex offenders. Some had created more than one MySpace profile, said Leah Bucco-White, Bruning's spokeswoman.
MySpace removed the profiles during the first six months of 2008; last year, the site deleted 247 Nebraska sex offenders' profiles.
The profiles were removed as part of a nationwide purge.
Iowa numbers were not available Friday, said Bob Brammer, a spokesman for Tom Miller, the state's attorney general.
In 2007, MySpace, owned by media conglomerate News Corp., made an agreement with attorneys general from across the U.S., including Nebraska and Iowa, to step up its efforts in sharing information about registered sex offenders. The site receives sex offender registries and compares the lists to users on its site. If there is a match, the user is deleted.
"A lot of these social sites are doing more to protect their users," Bucco-White said. "The predators go there for the kids."
MySpace representatives could not be reached for comment.
The News Corp. Web site says many of the 70 million users to log on per month are teenagers.
Bruning's office said he plans to introduce legislation next year that would make it illegal for registered sex offenders to use social networking sites
"Working with MySpace is part of our ongoing effort to help protect children on the Internet," Bucco-White said. "Keeping sex offenders off social sites is critical to keeping our kids safe online." ..News Source.. by MAGGIE O'BRIEN
August 16, 2008
NE- Sex offenders removed from MySpace
August 15, 2008
MySpace, other firms team with authorities against online predators
All we hear are misconstructions, for instance, they infer that all RSOs, when they go on MySpace, are trolling for minors, yet out of the 36,000 truthful RSOs who had accounts, only ONE was found to have contacted a minor improperly. It is true, as indicated in this article, that many of the RSOs on parole or probation are not allowed to access either the Internet or MySpace type accounts, and some have done that, but doing so is not a crime it is a mere violation of conditions of supervision. Yet the misconstructions abound in the media about MySpace and RSOs, claiming the RSOs are predators. Funny, MySpace is not a community JUST for minors it has millions of other adults on it as well.
8-15-2008 National:
After authorities heard Charles Cathey might have an account on the popular Web site MySpace, they raided the San Antonio sex offender's home, confiscated pornography and walked him outside in handcuffs last month.
Mr. Cathey, convicted in 1988 of molesting a 7-year-old girl, had violated his parole by going online. But he hadn't found any new victims through the social networking site. Instead, MySpace had found him.
Companies like MySpace, whose security chief was in Dallas this week to address the Crimes Against Children Conference, are teaming up with law enforcement agencies and nonprofit groups as part of an increasingly active network to combat online predators.
"Our members deserve a safe place within which they can freely connect and explore," chief security officer Hemanshu Nigam said at the annual conference, which ended Thursday. "Our advertisers demand the safest possible site within which to promote their brands. We simply have to make this possible."
Internet security specialists working for social Web sites are among the new allies to local police. Former prosecutors now lead dedicated security teams, human eyes review reams of uploaded material, and software looks for similarities between user accounts and entries in a sex offender database.
"The Internet has obliterated traditional jurisdictional boundaries," said Dallas police Lt. Ches Williams, who heads the crimes against children unit. "Many times it's beyond the ability of local law enforcement to deal with it."
New MySpace features
At times, MySpace has drawn harsh criticism for its security features. Houston lawyer Jason Itkin has filed eight lawsuits against the company and sex offenders, including one Dallas man. He says the Web site hasn't moved fast enough on new safeguards, especially age-verification software.
Mr. Nigam, a former attorney at the Department of Justice, joined MySpace in 2006 after a stint at Microsoft. He heads a team of dedicated security personnel that includes two former prosecutors.
Pushed by attorneys general across the country, MySpace unveiled a slew of features in January, including more privacy controls and an algorithm that searches for keywords associated with users younger than 14. The company says it's working with other companies to develop practical age-verification capabilities.
Both MySpace and Yahoo now track the origins of every image and video upload. Mr. Nigam says his staff reviews all uploads, which number almost 20 million daily. They flag potentially inappropriate material and send details to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
What began in 1998 as a hotline for the public to report tips to the center now involves the sophisticated analysis of those photos and videos. As more companies have linked up with the center, the number of tips has risen dramatically: In 2007, there were 11,422 reports of children being enticed online, up 79 percent from 2006 and more than 10 times as many as in 1999.
That increase has more to do with improvements in communication among various agencies than a rise in the crime rate, said Michelle Collins, director of the center's exploited child unit.
"There's really unprecedented cooperation in this area," she said.
Software aids arrests
The improved communication has become increasingly visible: When MySpace developed software that compares user profiles with entries in a 600,000-member national database of registered sex offenders, it discovered 29,000 matches.
With the help of the database, the Texas attorney general's office has arrested 28 men since June 2007 for using MySpace in violation of their parole terms, including Mr. Cathey and four others in July.
'Constant process'
"It's a constant process, and it's something we continue to look at on a daily basis," said David Boatright, chief of the office's criminal investigations division.
With so many agencies and companies involved, Lt. Williams said, providing enough training – which can be costly and time-consuming – remains an obstacle.
"The bad guys are constantly looking for new ways to hide their activities," he said. ..News Source.. by BRIAN WHITLEY / The Dallas Morning News
August 1, 2008
PA- Warning issued to MySpace predators
This news items tells us much about why the State AG is now upset by finding more RSOs, some parolees or probationers, having MySpace accounts which is not a prohibited act according to the MySpace terms of agreement. First he calls every RSO a predator without any justification saying they have no buniness being on MySpace. Well he ignores the fact that MySpace is a community for everyone, it is not strickly a community for children, there are millions of other adults using MySpace. That population -adults with no prior sex conviction- has been the major source of new sex crimes with minors but the AG completely ignores that fact. Yes, he is frustrated because he has no proof of wrongdoing, possibly the terms of parole or probation MAY say, those folks cannot use either, the Internet or MySpace, but reality is, he doesn't have proof of that either. So, he threatens, without foundation, he cannot accept that there are RSOs who are living within the law.
8-1-2008 Pennsylvania:
HARRISBURG — Convicted sex offenders in Pennsylvania who use MySpace as a means of contacting children may soon find themselves in violation of the terms of their probation and parole after law enforcement agencies throughout the state comb through a list of nearly 200 member accounts.
According to Attorney General Tom Corbett, what began as a list of 353 individuals, whose accounts had been blocked by MySpace because they appeared to match a list of registered sex offenders, was further whittled down to 185 people after duplicate accounts were removed. His office will forward the information to the appropriate probation and parole agencies which will then determine if they broke the terms of their release.
MySpace, which was developed in 2003, is a popular social networking site that now boasts more than 200 million registered users. Through the creation of a profile, members can post pictures, send e-mails, chat and use the browse feature to locate other users by entering information such as age and location.
“Social networking sites like MySpace are supposed to be safe places for teens and young adults to connect with friends, share their thoughts and meet new people,” Corbett said. “Convicted sex offenders have no business in that kind of an environment.”
This is the second time that MySpace has turned records over to the Attorney General’s Office. Prior to the June 2008 Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas court order, the agency received a list of 110 members in 2007 so officials could search for possible parole and probation violators. ..News Source.. by Thre Meadville Tribune
July 31, 2008
PA- State attorney general says 200 sex offenders joined MySpace
Why shouldn't they join, there is nothing in the terms of agreement which says they cannot join.
7-31-2008 Pennsylvania:
Authorities are reviewing records for nearly 200 registered sex offenders in Pennsylvania who opened accounts on MySpace, a popular social networking Web site.
"Convicted sex offenders have no business in that kind of environment," state Attorney General Tom Corbett said.
-Why, MySpace has other adults on it, and 95% of all new sex offenses comes from folks who have no former sex conviction.
Corbett spokesman Nils Frederiksen said Megan's Law records were reviewed to determine whether any convicted sex offender has violated terms of his release through MySpace use.
Information about the individuals is being forwarded to state and local probation and parole officers to allow them to search for possible violations.
The Attorney General's Child Predator Unit has identified 185 MySpace accounts that appear to match registered sex offenders.
MySpace provided information last year for about 110 registered sex offenders believed to have been active on the site.
"We're not aware that any violations were found in that first group," Frederiksen said. "It's something we have to evaluate on a case-by-case basis."
-The truth is out, earlier RSO did nothing wrong.
Frederiksen said the office continues to press MySpace about sex offenders who use phony names on the site.
-Oh bull, if they used phony names, how could you identify them? Shame, a lie when you can't find an answer.
MySpace reached an agreement in January with attorneys general in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to take significant steps to protect children who use the site. ..News Source.. by Michael Hasch, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
July 17, 2008
TX- Texas AG: Sex offenders arrested for using MySpace
Notice how happy the State AG is to have caught a few sex offenders who did nothing more than access a social networking wesbite, a technical violation of parole, not a crime. Notice also, the absence of any comment that the State AG caught any other person on parole, for any kind of parole violation. Why does he ignore them and focus on sex offenders, well its simple, using the sex offender stigma (SOS) the AG looks good to the public. Additional crimes committed by these sex offenders, ZERO!
The Dep't of Justice tells us, that for every sex crime committed by a released sex offender, there are six sex crimes committed by non sex offenders released from prison. So, by the AG focusing on these five sex offenders, he has missed the risks posed by non sex offenders possibly committing THIRTY new sex offenses!
7-17-2008 Texas:
Investigators arrested five registered sex offenders earlier this month for illegally using the popular social networking site MySpace.com.
“Each of the registered sex offenders arrested during this operation were (sic) originally convicted of crimes involving young children,” said Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, in a news release. “Despite clear legal prohibitions, all five of these sex predators accessed MySpace.com. Parents and children alike must remain vigilant about the dangers posed by online sex predators.”
On July 1 investigators arrested Daniel Louis Trowbridge, 47, in Seguin, for using the Internet in violation of his release terms. He was convicted in Travis County in 1980 for indecency with a child. His victim was an 11-year-old girl.
“These arrests reflect MySpace.com’s ongoing willingness to work cooperatively with law enforcement. However, until MySpace.com and other social networking sites implement true age verification software, dangerous sex offenders will continue using these Web sites to prey upon young children,” Abbott said.
In May, the Attorney General's office subpoenaed sex offenders’ user profiles from MySpace.com. As a result, the network provided Abbott with data from Sentinel Safe, which MySpace hired to compile and verify its users. ..News Source.. by KVUE.com
May 16, 2008
NJ- Sex offenders arrested for using MySpace
5-16-2008 New Jersey
The State Police today arrested three registered sex offenders for violating their parole by accessing MySpace and Facebook despite a law that went into effect this January prohibiting their use of such Internet sites.
Stanton Ulmer, 32, of Neptune Township, Felice Black, 24, of Paterson, and Pietro Parisi, 34, of Westville, were arrested in early morning raids. Detectives also seized computers, a webcam, and a cell phone.
The State Police said the three men had posted profiles on MySpace and Facebook under their own names. Troopers in the digital technology investigations unit posed as children on those sites and engaged the three in conversations.
--I wonder what the conversation was, possibly:
TROOPER "Hi"
PAROLEE "Hi"
TROOPER "I'm 13, what do you ...."
PAROLEE Silence, no response...
Yup, thats a conversation..
"We're not alleging at this time they were actively engaged in any kind of suspicious or illicit actively," said Lt. Keith Halton, assistant bureau chief of the Computer Crimes and High Tech Surveillance Bureau. "We're going after them because they were engaged on these social networking sites."
Each was charged with violating the provisions of parole supervision and released on their own recognizance pending court appearances. ..more.. by Rick Hepp/The Star-Ledger
January 16, 2008
Registered sex offenders on MySpace - Who did nothing wrong with minors
MySpace purged over 36,000 registered sex offenders who had accounts on MySpace in 2007:
Those identified are among a national total of about 7,000 registered sex offenders whose names were deleted and handed over by Fox Interactive Media, the owner of MySpace, to law enforcement authorities in all 50 states in late May.
Prodded by a gaggle of state attorneys general, MySpace canceled the accounts of 29,000 people who are registered sex offenders,
This was done because dozens of state Attorney Generals were falsely accusing those RSOs of CONTACTING minors on MySpace. While it is true that some were on parole or probation, and some of them were not supposed to be on the Internet, and those will suffer the consequence of TECHNICAL violation of parole or probation and MAY return to jails or prisons, there is no proof they were contacting minors.
Todate (1-15-2008) MySpace still has not changed its Terms of Service (TOS) to advise persons who sign up for an account, that if they are a registered sex offender they may not sign up for an account. Yes, MySpace verbally tells folks that, but fails to change the TOS. Obviously they are using a form of civil entrapment.
Subsequent to that fiasco the truth is slowly being revealed:
New Hampshire: "Last July, MySpace identified and expelled 29,000 sex offenders from its site, including 153 offenders from New Hampshire. The state Department of Corrections reviewed all of the New Hampshire cases but found none of the registered offenders had violated probation or parole conditions, Ayotte said (NH Attorney General)." source: Union Leader.com 1-15-2008
Illinois: Here they have done a wonderful analysis of the activities of the 1,558 Illinois RSOs who had MySpace accounts, but notice, not one of them contacted a minor, yes some violated parole but that is a technical violation not a crime. One was later caught with child porn, but again, nothing to do with his MySpace account:
1,558 RSOs had MySpace accounts and logged on;
202,986 Number times those RSOs logged into their profile between February and April 2007
(Source Chicago Sun-Time 1-15-2008)
Opposing Thoughts
========================
JupiterResearch analyst Barry Parr took issue with the approach taken by the attorneys general, suggesting they were looking to grab headlines and were pushing for laws that would infringe on everybody's privacy and right to anonymity.
"I think it's stupid to look at anything like this," he told TechNewsWorld. "The Internet's a communication medium. If you want to control the communications of offenders, you don't do it by controlling the communication media. You don't have telephone companies registering sex offenders or the post office."
Law enforcement, Parr said, should keep track of sex offenders' actions. "But you don't make the rest of us pay consequences," he added. "There are good and valid reasons for anonymity on the Web. People should be allowed to speak anonymously. If you have verification of identity and tracking of what everyone does ... society is going to be diminished. I think this is an upside-down approach to tracking sex offenders." ..more..
