Families of American teens sue MySpace

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Families of American teens sue MySpace

Source: http://enewslink.asia1.com.sg/brsweb/read_5.brsw?this=result&QDT=1&QFLST=HD%3AHG%3APD&DB=ST%3ABT%3ANP%4005-07&QSTR=%28%28teen%29%29.HD.&DTSTR=%28%28PD+%3E=+20050209%29+and+%28PD+%3C=+20070209%29%29&PSZ=30&MAXL=400&SUMY=2&HLT=0&LSTN=0&ID=000001205@NP07

Website a hunting ground for paedophiles, say parents SEVERAL teenage girls were allegedly sexually abused after being chatted up on social networking website MySpace, but the company claims a child's safety is partly a family's responsibility. The site popular with teenagers, allowing them to share their lives and secrets in online diaries and personal Web pages, has been criticised for providing paedophiles with a rich hunting ground, reported AFP. But it defended itself on Thursday against new lawsuits charging it had failed to protect the five girls from being lured into sex traps by predators. The suits demanded unspecified millions of dollars in damages from MySpace and its parent company News Corporation for 'negligence, recklessness, fraud' and misrepresentation. 'MySpace serves as an industry leader on Internet safety and we take proactive measures to protect our members,' the company's chief security officer, Mr Hemanshu Nigam, said. 'Ultimately, Internet safety is a shared responsibility. We encourage everyone to apply commonsense offline safety lessons in their online experiences and engage in open family dialogue about smart Web practises,' added Mr Nigam. The suits were filed separately on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of the families of the girls, aged between 14 and 15 and from the US states of New York, Texas, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. PLIED WITH DRUGS The girls were lured into meetings with men who had chatted them up on MySpace then plied them with drugs or alcohol and sexually abused them, according to court papers. One of the men accused in the assaults is serving a 10-year prison sentence and the others are awaiting trials, according to lawyers for the girls. 'Blaming the families of abuse victims who were solicited online, as some have done, is a cynical excuse that ignores the fact that social networking sites can lead to heinous abuse by Internet predators,' said Mr Adam Loewy, a lawyer for some of the girls. 'In our view, MySpace waited entirely too long to attempt to institute meaningful security measures that effectively increase the safety of their underage users,' said another of the plaintiffs' lawyers, Mr Jason Itkin. Last June, a mother who said her 14-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old user sued MySpace and News Corporation, seeking US$30 million ($46 million) in damages, reported Associated Press. That lawsuit claims the 19-year-old lied about being a senior in high school to gain the girl's trust.

My response:
Nearly every first world teenager is able to connect to the net for whatever reason, be it checking their email, chatting, playing online games, information, good or bad, let's face it: Without the net, we cannot survive. Not just us teens, but adults, even toddlers as well. My younger sister uses the net to source for information on Barney, and without this, I don't know what I can do to keep her preoccupied. However, like all other things, there is both a good and bad side. The internet, the ugly side.
The site MySpace.com, without it, I would not have a page there to base my music on. As a lyrical artist it is essential to increasing fame and credibility. But this time, it has come to my attention that such a useful website has let its usefulness be extended to pedophiles. And now the damage is done to innocent young girls, their traumatised families are suing MySpace. I do not entirely disagree with chatting and making friends on the net. After all, most teenagers go online just to chat, or play online games to make new friends. Such friends could help you in times on need online, however there is still the need to be wary of them. Who knows who could be sitting on the other side of the computer, a 70 old pervert, or a young lady in her 20s?
Sexually abusing girls via the internet is definitely wrong. But to empathise with the victims of such abuse, we do not know the future. Meeting with these so-called 'friends' would be taking a risk, if you trust the person enough, I would not object to meeting, but even so, be on your guard. Many of us want more companionship, it is a natural need. Thus we turn to the internet, all the pedophiles out there, they need company too. Though they're definition of 'company' may not be acceptable to most. Such people should undergo counselling to make it back to the right track of life. And for MySpace.com? The parents should not sue such companies. They merely provide such a service for networking. What should be the correct solution would be to either sue the pedophile, or closely monitor their children. As a teenager, I understand that most of us at my age range are extremely rebellious, we want freedom. And that can be understood. Besides MySpace.com, there are many other ways for pedophiles to make friends with young girls and boys like the "IRC", chatrooms, other websites, messengers etc. What would sueing MySpace solve? Does it solve the problem of pedophiles? Well, the answer is a definite NO. The attack should be aimed at the ones who sexually assaulted the girls, not the tool used.
In summary, you can go online to make friends, but always stay wary, stay alert and be on your guard.