$30 million Suit filed for Internet site failure to protect children from adult sexual predators. News story is here: http://community.adlandpro.com/forums/thread/389663.aspx My blog post link on this topic with other peoples' comments: http://community.adlandpro.com/forums/thread/389679.aspx This needs to be read by every parent out there. Please pass along. __________ Kenneth R Sword Jr Co-CEO - Bizzy Blogz http://www.bizzyblogz.com Sponsor of the ABA Basketball 'Streetball' group "Nothing But Net Entertainment" http://www.bizzyblogz.com/NBNE/ New! Bizzy Blogz Community - like MySpace http://www.bizzyblogz.biz An Advertising Traffic Machine http://www.megatraffic.us/ http://www.frappr.com/bizzyblogzcommunity

Hello Kenneth, Very worrying this sort of thing. I use Myspace as a free blogg and it is very concerning to see the sorts of things teenagers are putting out there. Parents need to be on guard. A site I persoannly promote is http://vitanova.kidsafeland.com/ It is a safe place for kids to learn and communicate. Thanks for the invite.

Thanks Kenneth. I responded at one of the two links that you give in this post.

This is really troubling for two reasons, first is that fact that the child was able to do it. I speak to my children ages 12 and 15 about this sort of thing all the time and monitor their internet use. The second disturbing thing is of course the law suit that now has the potential to shut down or alter a site many people enjoy using. Being a virtual world, how do you know for certain what the identity of the person signing up is? Well thanks for the info and keep me informed.

Hi Ken! I've been following this on the news. It was just a matter of time, in my opinion. I don't see how it could have been avoided. How does one verify age online? Kids grab their parents credit card to get into adult sites, so we still haven't resolved that issue. Credit card numbers don't prove adulthood... how on Earth do we prove age for minors? Personally, I don't think that kids under 18 should be chatting with anyone over 18, unless they are family. If we could resolve the age verification glitch, then perhaps MySpace should create a separate 'space' for adults. MySpaceTeen, or MyKidSpace, and MySpace+. LOL My 16 year-old son has a MySpace. So does his girlfriend, who lives 2500 miles from us. I deal with my adolecent's Internet experience like this: The only computer in the house that has Internet access is in my home office. My computer requires a password in order to logon. (My son does not know the pw.) I check in on him while he is online, to see what he's doing. I keeps tabs on the history of his travels too. He's a good kid, and asks me to review his MySpace, to see if I can help make it better. ;-) And, he shows me his friends' spaces too. The only way that I know of to protect kids online, is to have a relationship with your kids. Communicate with them, and be an active part of their lives. Sometimes, I think that people are afraid of talking to their kids. It's part of the job. A parents job is to: Love the child Protect the child Teach the child Love the child enough to be interested in their life. Protect the child by being active in their life. Teach the child through communication, both verbal and by example. Let them know that they can talk to you about anything. As a parent, I feel it is my obligation to know how my children spend their time, and who they spend it with. If your child is spending hours on end, in their bedroom, don't you think it is a good idea to find out what they're up to? As an interesting side note... My 16 year-old son, Jerimiah, met his girlfriend online, in a role-playing chat. She lives in New York, and we live in Colorado. I have spoken with her parents on the phone, and I've met this lovely girl in person. She spent 3 weeks with us last summer, and she is coming out here to visit again, this summer. Jerimiah does odd jobs around town, to earn his airfare to visit her too. He spent last Christmas with her family. So you see, good things happen to kids online too. I don't know if MySpace should be held responsible. What can they really do to prevent this kind of predation? Kids lie about their ages and so do adults. How do you verify?