Quote :

"MySpace Hit With Online Predator Suits By JESSICA MINTZ Posted: Today at 10:56 a.m. Updated: 11 minutes ago NEW YORK — Four families have sued News Corp. and its MySpace social-networking site after their underage daughters were sexually abused by adults they met on the site, lawyers for the families said Thursday. The law firms, Barry & Loewy LLP of Austin, Texas, and Arnold & Itkin LLP of Houston, said families from New York, Texas, Pennsylvania and South Carolina filed separate suits Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging negligence, recklessness, fraud and negligent misrepresentation by the companies. "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 Jason A. Itkin, an Arnold & Itkin lawyer. The families are seeking monetary damages "in the millions of dollars," Itkin said. "Hopefully these lawsuits can spur MySpace into action and prevent this from happening to another child somewhere," he said. MySpace, based in Los Angeles, did not immediately return calls for comment. Critics including parents, school officials and police have been increasingly warning of online predators at sites like MySpace, where youth-oriented visitors are encouraged to expand their circles of friends using free messaging tools and personal profile pages. MySpace has responded with added educational efforts and partnerships with law enforcement. The company has also placed restrictions on how adults may contact younger users on MySpace, while developing technologies such as one announced Wednesday to let parents see some aspects of their child's online profile, including the stated age. That tool is expected this summer. The lawyers who filed the latest lawsuits said the plaintiffs include a 15-year-old girl from Texas who was lured to a meeting, drugged and assaulted in 2006 by an adult MySpace user, who is currently serving a 10-year sentence in Texas after pleading guilty to sexual assault. The others are a 15-year-old girl from Pennsylvania, a 14-year-old from upstate New York and two South Carolina sisters, ages 14 and 15. Last June, the mother of a 14-year-old who says she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old user sued MySpace and News Corp., seeking $30 million in damages. That lawsuit, pending in a Texas state court, claims the 19-year-old lied about being a senior in high school to gain her trust and phone number. News Corp. shares hit a new 52-week high of $24.07 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange before slipping back to $23.98, up 28 cents."

http://www.wral.com/news/technology/story/1171158/

1/18/2007 1:10:33 PM

I hope the plaintiffs lose. It's the fucking parents responsibility to make sure their kids don't do shit like that. MySpace is, as the article said, a social networking site, not a babysitter. In fact, if a 15 year old was lured somewhere by an adult stranger who drugged and raped her and her parents didn't do anything to prevent that, the parents are clearly at fault.

[Edited on January 18, 2007 at 1:14 PM. Reason : .]

1/18/2007 1:13:26 PM

because parents have NO say in what sites their children go to.

1/18/2007 1:13:40 PM

if anything the parents should be charged with negligence by not monitoring their children's internet usage.

1/18/2007 1:14:35 PM

I don't know if the parents should be charged, but they were definitely fucking up if they weren't monitoring internet usage.

1/18/2007 1:16:42 PM

I hope they lose and then get charged with negligence.

1/18/2007 1:24:13 PM

Quote :

"The families are seeking monetary damages "in the millions of dollars," Itkin said. "Hopefully these lawsuits can spur MySpace into action and prevent this from happening to another child somewhere help me and my clients make millions of dollars and make them feel better about not watching their fucking kids in the first place," he said."

Just another reason for me to hate people.

1/18/2007 1:24:21 PM

this will never hold up in court

they might as well try to sue al gore since his internet hosted myspace which allowed them to contact each other in the first place

1/18/2007 1:35:02 PM

Wait does this mean I cant stalk underage girls on myspace anymore...

1/18/2007 2:48:13 PM

No, it means that it's not your fault. The blame is on Myspace.

1/18/2007 2:53:39 PM

Awesome, having a scapegoat always helps

1/18/2007 3:04:29 PM

I agree with everyone else here ... it's the parents' fault if anyone. Sue the dudes for assault since they actually committed the act but suing MySpace is asinine.

1/18/2007 3:15:15 PM

great thread title....

1/18/2007 4:00:44 PM

Where is this going to be tried? And will this be tried by a judge or jury? A judge would most likely throw this out from with if MySpace can show a considerable amount of effort placed into preventing this sort of thing. A jury, depending on where its tried, could have field day with this.

1/18/2007 5:28:22 PM

So if they're all under 16, and cant just HOP IN THE CAR AND DRIVE THERE.....you gotta wonder y'know why the parents didnt know where they were going?

Dumb ass parents who dont watch their kids...

1/18/2007 5:38:39 PM

wow

1/18/2007 5:48:58 PM

They should sue their ISP, this never would've happened without internet access

Might as well go after whoever they bought their computer from too

1/18/2007 5:51:32 PM

sue bill gates for making windows.

1/18/2007 6:59:45 PM

sue al gore for inventing the internets!

1/18/2007 7:45:03 PM

Sue IBM for creating the PC, unless she was on a Mac.

1/19/2007 1:57:30 AM

Sue the grandparents of the girls for making retarded children.

1/19/2007 10:30:27 AM

Sue free will because the parents couldn't exert totalitarian control over a 14 and 15 year old.

1/19/2007 10:38:11 AM

Sue the title maker of this thread!

1/19/2007 10:51:22 AM

sue god for letting this happen

1/19/2007 10:56:11 AM

I disagree with the view that it's the parent's fault. I think it is fault of the girls that agree to meet complete strangers on the internet.

1/19/2007 10:57:39 AM

Clearly the families and the girls have no fault in this, therefore they deserve millions of dollars.

1/19/2007 11:23:26 AM

Sue Mcdonalds for feeding those children so they had the energy to use the computer!

1/19/2007 4:17:07 PM