Seen in the AJC:
Citing federal privacy law, MySpace.com said Tuesday it won’t comply with a request by attorneys general from eight states to hand over the names of registered sex offenders who use the social networking Web site.[...]
In a letter Monday, attorneys general from North Carolina, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania asked MySpace to provide information about registered sex offenders using the site and where they live.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Tuesday blasted MySpace for refusing to share the information and said no subpoena is needed for MySpace to tell the attorneys general how many registered sex offenders use the site “or other information relating to possible parole violations.”
That’s got to be an uncomfortable situation MySpace is in. On the one hand, they can violate one of the few federal privacy laws in force and disclose personal information about some of its creepier users. On the other hand, obeying the law causes MySpace to look like it’s protecting predators.
I think the AGs’ deserve a bit of a wrist slap for acting in the vein of being media wh*res. If this were information of vital interest to their states, the subpoenas required and legal procedures to be followed aren’t particularly onerous.
However, I think it would have been strategically wiser for MySpace to issue a statement saying, “To give you attorneys general a feel for the size of the problem — we identified n predators in our database and removed their accounts. We would be pleased to share additional information if the appropriate legal procedures are followed. If this phenomenon is still perceived as a real problem, here are the technological challenges we face, and let’s work together to find a viable solution.”
And, of course, my regular observation still applies — If convicted sex offenders are such a danger to society, why the heck are they out and about? Either they have paid their debt to society and are free to move on with their lives, or they should be under close supervision if they pose a danger.