N.Y. Bill Would Keep Sex Offenders Off MySpace, Facebook
New York’s attorney general is teaming up with social networking website on proposed legislation that would bar registered sex offenders from sites such as MySpace and Facebook.
The law, if enacted, would require sex offenders to submit their e-mail addresses and other Internet identities, such as screen names, within 10 days to the State Division of Criminal Justice Services, the New York Times reports. Sex offenders already are required to submit their home addresses.
Failing to provide the information would be a violation of the offenders probation or parole. Sex offenders considered most likely to harm children would be barred from social networking sites and from communicating online with children.
Under the proposed bill, the state would be allowed to share e-mail addresses with commercial sites like Facebook and MySpace.
Earlier this month, MySpace teamed up with prosecutors in 49 states and the District of Columbia to develop new Web protocols that call for social networks to keep private all profiles of individuals younger than 18.
