Remember when the Internet was anonymous? Back in, say, 1998 anyone could disguise himself with no more subterfuge than an instant messaging "screen name." No one knew who was out there, and parents fretted about predators contacting their kids. Instant messaging, however, had a safety valve -- just like the children, criminals couldn't be sure if they were swapping messages with a child or an FBI agent.
The immense popularity of online social networks such as News Corp.'s (NWS) MySpace has given rise to a next-generation problem. The millions of teenagers who have posted online profiles on the site -- complete with photos and personal information -- comprise a virtual supermarket for anyone who wishes to harm them. Call it child abuse 2.0 (see BW Online, 2/28/06, "Big Brother is Reading Your Blog").
Last week, a 39-year-old man was arrested after allegedly meeting with and engaging in a sex act with a 14-year-old Connecticut girl he met on MySpace. Even before the arrest, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal had been a loud voice condemning the risks involved in social networking.
PERSONAL SPACE. This week he plans to announce "specific steps that are technologically feasible and financially viable," to protect children. These ideas, he says, arose out of conversations with MySpace. In Connecticut, there are more than seven ongoing investigations of sexual assault that have been linked directly to MySpace contacts, notes Blumenthal.
It's hard to imagine an elected official not decrying a technology that exposes minors to potential abuse and pornography, but it's by no means certain that he can do anything about it. There would be loads of social networks to choose from even if MySpace were smut free.
Anne Collier, editor of the Web site Net Family News, says, "There isn't much anyone can do to protect children these days." Technology and the law "can't possibly keep up, so the onus is on parents." (See BW, 12/12/05, "Protecting Your Kids from Cyber-Predators".)
Blumenthal recently spoke to BusinessWeek Online reporter Alex Halperin about tracking cyber criminals, protecting your kids, and how MySpace could stand to gain from a crackdown. The following are edited excerpts from their conversation.
How should MySpace change to become a safe environment for children? MySpace has to provide greater protection against pornography and child predators that pose continuing dangers on this Web site and very possibly other social-networking sites similar to MySpace.
What are your specific proposed changes? We're going to be suggesting some very specific measures that MySpace can take based on our conversations with MySpace as well as with other law enforcement authorities at the state and local levels. We've received hundreds of complaints from parents who are concerned about these issues, and we want to be sure that the measures we propose are technologically feasible and financially viable.
Are you prepared to share them now? No.
Has MySpace agreed to them? They can't agree to them until they know what they are. We've described them in general concept. They've proposed some measures to us. We're going to be, in effect, making some counterproposals. So far they've been very responsive. The CEO of the company, Chris DeWolfe, flew to Connecticut and visited with us at my office. Then they submitted some suggestions in writing, and we're going to take those ideas further.
What did they suggest? They suggested measures that would involve greater policing, stronger verification of age limits, measures to filter out pornography -- although they suggested that some of the deep links might preclude those measures. Again, I'm not at liberty to talk about the specifics because we have this continuing conversation.
What would you consider a successful result? Greatly reducing the dangers to children.
Is that realistic, considering that there are many sites beyond MySpace out there? Not only realistic but necessary. There are responsible steps that many of these Web sites can take to rid themselves of the sexually suggestive messages, outright pornography, and sexual predators fabricating their age and residence. There are very practical and realistic measures that can be taken, and I think MySpace would agree.
Is this going to cost MySpace a lot of money? My view is that the failure to adopt these measures will be enormously costly to MySpace, and the expense more than justifies the substantial revenues they make now and wish to retain. The business model that MySpace and other social-networking sites have adopted certainly doesn't include pornography and sexual predators. They don't make money from pornography or criminality.
But pornography sites advertise on MySpace. That may be one of the losses of revenue. But clearly their millions of dollars, tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue yearly, do not hinge on pornographic advertising. In fact they may actually offset the loss of revenue from increased revenue from legitimate sources. They have very well-known sources of advertising that would be appalled and outraged by the continuing pornography on the Web site -- not to mention the law enforcement issues.
Have you spoken with other companies beyond MySpace? I'm not at liberty to discuss conversations with other Web sites at this time, but we certainly have been in contact with other Web sites.
This sort of cybercrime has been going on for many years in different forms. Is social networking harder to address than, say, it was with instant messaging? There are a variety of ways that the Internet can pose dangers to children, and the question is how best to address them in each situation. Cybercrime is a source of continuing law-enforcement urgency and interest, and MySpace is just one part of the challenge.
What resources have you devoted to this effort? We have a number of attorneys who've been working on these issues. My office is primarily involved in civil law enforcement. We've been working closely with local prosecutors with our state police and local police, as well as my colleagues around the country.
Do you have a specific amount of the budget set aside for it? No. We don't set aside parts of our budget for specific enforcement goals.
Are you working with attorneys general in other states? We've been in contact with somewhere between 5 and 10. There's a lot of interest in MySpace around the country.
Are you filing any sort of civil lawsuits? No. What we hope to do is establish a model or template through voluntary action by MySpace and avoid the costs and time that would be required for any sort of legal action in court. MySpace has been, so far, very cooperative.
One child-protection activist suggested that this is an area where the law is too slow to protect children, and the responsibility rests with parents. How would you respond to that? Parents have to be the first line of defense. There's absolutely no question that law enforcement can not substitute for parental responsibility.
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