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15 Jan 2008
Social networking site MySpace has unveiled a new initiative aimed at keeping underage users safe online.
The Joint Statement on Key Principles of Social Networking Sites Safety (PDF) sets out guidelines for site owners and US law enforcement agencies.
The plan calls for tighter age verification systems and the increased online presence of law enforcement groups.
MySpace has vowed to improve its age verification system and make the profiles of all users between the ages of 14 and 17 set to 'private' by default. The site has also promised to develop new parental control software.
Individual US states will beef up their presence on MySpace by establishing a 24-hour hotline and forming a new task force charged with improving safety controls on the site.
The programme has the support of attorneys general from 49 US states along with the District of Columbia.
Texas attorney general Greg Abbot emerged as the only detractor, telling reporters that the new guidelines would be inadequate fully to protect children.
Keeping sexual predators off MySpace has proved a major issue for the social networking site.
Tens of thousands of sex offenders have been identified on the site, prompting the deletion of 29,000 profiles in July last year.
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Do you agree?
Not safe enough
I do not consider the proposed safety measures set by MySpace to be strong enough. In my opinion a safe social network would be a site that does not have a chat room, does not allow profanity and lewd or sexual comments - as well as racial slurs and other hate speech, pornographic material and protects the privacy of it's members. I am not a tech nerd or a college student but a middle aged grandmother. For the past couple of years, I wanted to join a social network so I could share stuff with my friends and family. But I had been unable to find what I consider a "safe social network". So, in September 2007, I created a safe social network called Our-Social.com. Our-Social.com is a clean safe alternative to the prominent social networking sites. It has a word filter that prevents members from being exposed to profanity and lewd or sexual comments - as well as racial slurs and other hate speech. To further ensure that the site remains clear of offensive material and is safe for all ages, all pictures, video and audio clips go through an approval process ? which takes places within 24 hours of submission - before they are posted. In addition, Our-Social discourages members from ever publicly displaying information such as their e-mail address and full name. As another safety precaution, Our-Social does not have a chat area but does provide a members-only forum. The forum is moderated and has several different threads under the main categories of Family, Health, Faith, Pets and Social Stuff. Members have their own account pages, which serve as personalized control panels, where users can manage all aspects of their account. Management activities include editing profiles, setting privacy levels for the account, creating or editing articles, checking mail, inviting friends to join, sending out friendship requests, a calendar and creating numerous picture, video and audio albums. The calendar is especially handy for anyone who would like to create a page for a group of people. With the calendar you can keep everyone in you group informed of any upcoming events.
Posted by: theresa adams 15 Jan 2008