MySpace, child predators and the ACLU: what do you think?

Question

MySpace has hired a team of security officers to patrol their network to fish out over 600,000 child predators that use the site. However, the ACLU is planning to sue MySpace for violating the privacy of the child predators, saying that their use of the site is legal and protected by the First Amendment.

What do you think: should preying on children be a Constitutionally protected right that all child molesters can enjoy, or should the ACLU back off and put the interests of children ahead of putting money in its lawyers' pockets?

Source: I read about this in my city newspaper. If I can find a similar story online I will be sure to post it here.

Answer 1

MySpace is a playground for child predators, just like anywhere on the net. When people sign up to MySpace, the ToS says that MySpace can view their records on any user at any time. Removing users that are participating in possible Pedophilia is actually lawful.

It's either that MySpace takes care of it, or Vigilante hackers will. And trust me when I say that mob justice of child predators, online or not, is always ugly.

Answer 2

I think this is all just blowing smoke up people's behinds to make them feel like something is being done. MySpace is a free site, anyone can join under any fake name they want, and without cooperation from every single user's internet service provider to find out who they really are, there is no physical way this will be accomplished. Even if they did track them through the IP address, what if they don't have their own computer? What if they log on at different libraries, cafes and coffeehouses where anyone can use the computers for free? That would mean a different IP address every time. Again, blowing smoke.

Parents really need to be monitoring their children more on the internet. If that means having a password and blocking MySpace, so be it. I am as much against child predators as any other parent, but more parents need to take responsibility. In our house, the computer is in the living room, right there for the whole world to see whatever is on that screen from anywhere in the room, and no one can get on it without us anyway. And we are MySpacers too, mainly for the musicians we would have never known about otherwise.

Answer 3

Are you sure you are not confusing the story. Yesterday Attorneys General of several states asked MySpace to tell them whether registered sex offenders were using the MySpace site. MySpace declined to give the Attorneys General that information. I'm not sure of the ACLU's alleged involvement. MySpace's position was basically that in the absence of evidence that ANY user is violating the law and/or provisions of use of the site, anyone is free to use the site in a lawful manner, even a registered sex offender. Not only that, but there was little if any way to verify that a person using the site was a "match" to those individuals the Attorneys General were targetting.

Answer 4

First of all, children shouldn't be allowed to have a myspace. First error as it is. Second, I dont believe it is correct that security patrol should be scanning the myspace pages "fishing out" child predators. Be it what they are they still have rights, as long as they far away from the children and not harming them or talking/mailing them in any way. The first error was to have children being able to have a myspace, we wouldnt be having this problem. I think it would be a better idea to have some kind of system that wouldn't allow any convicted child predator from view a minor's myspace page. A system that wouldn't be optional to the owner of the myspace who was under age.

Answer 5

Despite your horribly biased wording, I do believe the children need to be protected in some way since parents aren't doing it themselves. MySpace has proven to be a popular venue for child predators, and I'm not convinced at all that some loophole in our first amendment rights trumps the protection of our children from predators.

Answer 6

Did you know the ACLU was founded by a bunch of socialists? Back then it was known as the National Civil Liberties Bureau.

Did you also know that the ACLU is suing Texas because of a law that was just passed that would require landlords to check the status of applicants' citizenship? Because, that's violating the civil rights of illegals.

Answer 7

Society needs a reality check. Targeting sex offenders with a registry is only the beginning of a slow demise of civil rights. Not all registered offenders are predators! Parents need to be more involved with their children and activities. Wake up America....stop relying on society and ineffective laws which create a false sense of security!

Answer 8

Should illegal immigrants be protected by Sanctuary Cities? Should American Citizens be punished for the same crimes that illegal immigrants get away with? Considering how inept our law enforcement is today, I think freedom of speech should prevail. Parents have a duty to police their children and protect their children. If they aren't willing to keep track of their children, then the child are at risk. However, we really need to look at the definition of child predator and we need to ensure that we are not going crazy with definitions and unnecessarily ruining people's lives. We are aware of men who have bathed their paramour's female or male children and when they had a fight with the girlfriend, the girlfriend filed child abuse charges. The police and DCFS's way of questioning the children -- "Did ____________touch your private parts"? Answer: Yes. Where did he touch you? Here? You would be surprised at how leading the techniques of questioning are to these young kids and how often the kids are actually abused by the Doctors and DCFS sponsored caretakers and caregivers. We need to get back to the ability to confront our accusers and ensure the opportunity to question the children and the accusers as to motives, etc. Young girls have found out how easy it is to accuse teachers of sexual abuse when the teacher won't give them an "A" or when they don't like the teacher. These girls get together in cliques and agree to accuse the teacher. The motives of the accusers need to be looked at instead of the law just running around willy nilly taking away the rights of people and putting their names on sex offender lists. Personally, I would cut the nuts of child predators but I would want to ensure that I wasn't doing it to an innocent man or in a vindictive manner. I would also like to see all illegal immigrants have their tubes tied so they can't continue their illegal acts. I'd also like to see lists of illegal immigrants posted on the web along with the social security numbers they've fraudulently used so we could finally prosecute these people to the fullest extent of the law and so we would know to watch these people to prevent terrorist acts. Why should illegal immigrants be given preferential treatment when their people are rapists and murderers and sexual predators, too?

Answer 9

If I were the original loyal Bushie, I would gather up all the ACLU members and drop them all off in Baghdad, after all those poor insurgents need legal representation before they commit suicide bombing and be rewarded with 70 virgins, not necessarily all women.

Answer 10

I think that they should be able to dislcose about sex offenders on the internet. I mean you can get online and find out where they live, and what they were accused of doing. Why shouldn't you be able to tell if they are on a public networking website?