Sex offenders and Myspace

[Jo]

Should laws be changed so places like Myspace has to turn over their lists of users that are registered sex offenders? If they are not committing crimes, should the government be able to intrude on their lives like this? In general, should sex offenders have to remain on a list forever?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070514/ap_on_hi_te/myspace_sex_offenders_10

[Maleah]

I am not sure how MySpace is suppose to know which member is a sex offender and which isn't. I didn't notice a checkbox for it when I registered.

[Beka]

I think it is excessive to expect a website like Myspace to monitor every member- yes i think they are morally (and should be legally) obliged to report any illegal activity or activity that can be constrewed as grooming however in terms of monitoring each individual member for criminal record i am uncertain.

What i do think is worrying is the way in which we seem to see it as everyone else's responsibility to protect our children, the use of websites like myspace should be closely monitored if being used by a minor- there is no excuse to negate ones parental responsibility to monitor ALL interaction our children have with the adult world- real or virtual and i feel if Myspace took on an issue like this many parents would consider it a green card to be entirely olivious to their childs online activity which is very worrying indeed.

Also i think the sex offenders register is a very grey area of crime, I have 2 friends who are (were, one of them is now no longer with us very sadly) on the sex offenders register in Britain- one of them (rest his soul) was placed on it for peeing in a doorway at 3am in the morning on his way home when all public toilets were locked and he really had to go- it is deemed as indecent exposure in England and therefore legally he *had* to be placed on the sex offenders register- he was of no threat to anyone (and his mother was mortified :lmao ) but under this theory he'd have to declare it to join myspace? The other friend is on there because he was a few weeks past 16 when his first child was conceived, his girlfriend was a few weeks under 16- they were both the "same" age, same level of understanding and yet in the eyes of the law he was branded with the crime of sexual activity with a child- now if i saw that writen about some one and had no idea who he was i'd see them as a predator to my 3, 4 and 9 year old but in reality a very different story. It can be a very grey area.

I think as parents we need to accept the internet is a very deceitful and potentially dangerous place- we wouldn't let our children talk to strange adults in town, we wouldn't let them go to a restaurant or book club with all adults without being there ourselves with them but online many allow them into unsupervised situations where they are at risk- the virtual world isn't "real" as such but the people and predators using it are very real and children are very vunerable. As parents we need to step up to the plate and accept this as another area under which we need to assert our parental control and teach our children about a new type of stranger danger.

[Erika]

I completely agree with everything Beka has said. I do have issues with sex offenders list because there are grey areas. Known paedophiles are one thing, but why should someone have their name put on the list, have their name blackened just because they engaged in consensual sex with their girlfriend but they were underage (and until recently, a 15 yr old boy could be arrested for statutory rape of a 15 yr old girl. How messed up is that!).

As for Myspace, I just don't understand HOW they know someone is a sex offender, unless they actually come out and say "well I have been arrested as a sex offender". Of course any illegal activity should be banned and but even what we may think are sex offenders may not be so IRL. You can never really know someone online. For all we know they are kids just messing around trying to freak out other people.

In the end, it really is up to the parents and the caregivers to monitor children's online activity. A lot of parents are very vigilant and won't allow their children to have a computer in their room or go online without being there. And there are so many ways to check and see what your children have been up to. And of course, constantly telling your children the importance of NEVER giving out personal information online.