The Dangers of MySpace

Congressman Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA) proposed bill to block MySpace from libraries, public places

While the bill seems like a good idea, there are numerous reasons why it will fail and not be effective in the way that Congressman Fitzpatrick wants it to be. First off, the bill is still in its infancy, but it needs to be revised a LOT before it can even be remotely considered effective. Currently, the bill would block social networking sites such as MySpace from public places of which include libraries and school networks. That’s all well and good because it will force students to concentrate on an education, which they should be doing anyway in a school environment, but it won’t stop predators. After all, that’s the underlying theme and purpose of the bill, right?

Well, who knows right now due to the fact that bill is exceptionally vague. Besides, if they were to go after the REAL PROBLEMS of MySpace, they would stop the predators and not restrict access to non-predatorial users of the site but rather track down the predators. All this bill currently does it block social networking sites from public places. So what happens when the child goes home? He or she can clearly access the site from that location, a friend’s house, or otherwise (including MySpace enabled cell phones which are a new concept on the market). This is all assuming the parents don’t step in, which is a fundamental problem in itself. Often parents are involved in their child’s activity online and there is that issue of trust. But does it hold up well? That all depends on the child, parents, and how strict the rules are in the household.

My point is why go after shutting down the sites from being viewed on public computers? You’re certainly NOT stopping predators since most of the time they use their personal computer at their house to do their “business” and dirty work (i.e. sexual advances and openly talking to underage users which can and eventually leads to an in person meeting). Simply limiting access to the sites at libraries and schools is not enough!

One of the major flaws and reasons this is even happening to sites like MySpace is because MySpace does not care about security of its users. They put a bland and, frankly, useless “Safety Tips” page on their site which states the following:

MySpace makes it easy to express yourself, connect with friends and make new ones, but please remember that what you post publicly could embarrass you or expose you to danger. Here are some common sense guidelines that you should follow when using MySpace:

Don’t forget that your profile and MySpace forums are public spaces. Don’t post anything you wouldn’t want the world to know (e.g., your phone number, address, IM screens name, or specific whereabouts). Avoid posting anything that would make it easy for a stranger to find you, such as where you hang out every day after school.
People aren’t always who they say they are. Be careful about adding strangers to your friends list. It’s fun to connect with new MySpace friends from all over the world, but avoid meeting people in person whom you do not fully know. If you must meet someone, do it in a public place and bring a friend or trusted adult.
Harassment, hate speech and inappropriate content should be reported. If you feel someone’s behavior is inappropriate, react. Talk with a trusted adult, or report it to MySpace or the authorities.
Don’t post anything that would embarrass you later. Think twice before posting a photo or info you wouldn’t want your parents or boss to see!
Don’t mislead people into thinking that you’re older or younger. If you lie about your age, MySpace will delete your profile.
To learn more please visit these other resources:

Netsmartz.org
SafeTeens.com
WebWiseKids.org

What’s really unnerving is that MySpace feels this is all that needs to be done to protect user identities and stopping sexual predators, apparently; otherwise, security measures would have been implemented, such as my credit card validation method (which would be free and easy to implement with time).

So why don’t I say the same for sites such as Facebook.com? It’s pretty simple. With Facebook, you need a valid school e-mail address to get in and anyone who posts a profile has the option of only allowing friends to view their profiles. There are more security options and better control over your data. However, that certainly doesn’t make Facebook much safer than MySpace. Being as this site is not dedicated to the flaws and security of Facebook, I won’t be discussing it.

In short, this bill won’t be effective if it goes through. In the end, it comes down to tracking and capturing sexual predators and teaching parents and children alike about the security of being online as well as what information should be made publicly available to anyone browsing the web.