Sunday, November 30, 2008
The MySpace Verdict
Guynn,Jessica- November 26, 2008. In the wake of MySpace verdict, could social networks do more to protect consumers?
Lori Drew, 49, now faces up to three years in prison and $300,000 in fines but was acquitted of the most serious charges.
The broader issue here is whether these social networking sites are doing enough to protect their users and what is computer fraud? If these verdicts or the charges were allowed to stand it would mean that the Terms Of Service Agreements on websites and software would become laws, laws that were decided and composed by anyone running a website, rather than by the elected legislature. These would be laws that at best are vague, unclear, overboard, and vary from site to site. It would also mean that every one on MySpace that say they are of "athletic build" but are really 30 pounds overweight is committing computer fraud.
No parent should assume a social networking site is 'safe' for their children. That's no different than assuming they can send their young kids off to the mall, and not worry about their safety.
"A federal jury in Los Angeles delivered a disordered verdict in the MySpace cyber-bullying case, convicting a Missouri woman of three misdemeanor charges of computer fraud for creating a phony account on the social networking site that prosecutors said drove a teenage girl to suicide."
Lori Drew, 49, now faces up to three years in prison and $300,000 in fines but was acquitted of the most serious charges.
The broader issue here is whether these social networking sites are doing enough to protect their users and what is computer fraud? If these verdicts or the charges were allowed to stand it would mean that the Terms Of Service Agreements on websites and software would become laws, laws that were decided and composed by anyone running a website, rather than by the elected legislature. These would be laws that at best are vague, unclear, overboard, and vary from site to site. It would also mean that every one on MySpace that say they are of "athletic build" but are really 30 pounds overweight is committing computer fraud.
No parent should assume a social networking site is 'safe' for their children. That's no different than assuming they can send their young kids off to the mall, and not worry about their safety.
