Reprinted Courtesy of
CNN
NY Lawmakers Introduce Social Networking Protection Law
Dow Jones
January 29, 2008: 02:19 PM EST
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- New York lawmakers said Tuesday that they're introducing legislation to enhance protections from sexual predators on social networking Web sites.
At a press conference Tuesday, New York Attorney Andrew Cuomo said the proposed legislation - the Electronic Security and Targeting of Online Predators Act - would prohibit sex offenders who used the Internet to commit the offense or whose victim was a minor from accessing social networking Web sites, such as News Corp.'s (NWS, NWSA) MySpace or Facebook; accessing pornographic materials online; and communicating with anyone under the age of 18 on the Internet as a condition of parole.
"I see it as a Megan's law for the age of the Internet," said Cuomo, who described it as the "most comprehensive, toughest law" regarding sexual predators on the Internet in the country.
Sex offenders also would be required to register all of their Internet accounts and online identifiers, such as instant messaging accounts, with the state, Cuomo said. That information would be turned over to social networking sites to prescreen for online predators.
Cuomo announced the legislation at a press conference in Albany with New York Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno and State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
"This is an issue that transcends politics," Silver said.
Facebook and MySpace have agreed to use the registry to block sex offenders from their Web sites when the registry becomes available, Cuomo said.
In recent months, MySpace and Facebook have both agreed to adopt new safety procedures to protect children from sexual predators.
Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace's chief security officer said in a statement Tuesday, "We applaud Attorney General Cuomo's leadership, both on this legislation and on the development of precedent-setting social networking safety principles in which MySpace and 50 state attorneys general recently joined. This bill complements technology we've already put in place to remove registered sex offenders from our community and is a comprehensive approach to protecting Internet users from predators. We look forward to continuing our work with Attorney General Cuomo to make the Internet a safer place."
In a statement, Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly said, "The e-STOP Act will enhance Facebook's existing use of technology and social rules to build a safer and more trusted environment for its users. We applaud the leadership of Attorney General Cuomo, Majority Leader Bruno and Speaker Silver in introducing such effective legislation in the effort to protect kids online."
News Corp. owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of this newswire.
-By Chad Bray, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-227-2017;
chad.bray@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-29-08 1419ET
Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
