Sweeping new measures to protect children online

CNET News notes that under the agreement, MySpace has pledged to work with the attorneys-general on a set of principles to combat harmful material on social-networking sites (pornography, harassment, cyberbullying, and identity theft, among other issues), better educate parents and schools about online threats, co-operate with law enforcement officials around the country, as well as develop new technology for age and identity verification on social-networking sites. The site will now make private the default profile settings for all members under the age of 18, so that adults whom they do not know in the physical world will not be able to find them. In addition, MySpace said it would develop an e-mail registry for parents to block their children from accessing the site. The agreement is the latest attempt by law enforcement officials nationwide to shield children from online dangers, including the risk of encountering inappropriate sexual content or receiving sexual advances through sites like MySpace and Facebook. The New York Times reports that the sites previously allowed any Internet user to create a profile to display personal information and build networks of friends online. Internet News reports that the initiatives mark the culmination of two years of talks between attorneys-general and MySpace regarding privacy concerns. While the social Web has developed at lightening speed, law enforcement has been unable to keep up, Ohio Attorney-General Marc Dann said. \'We are not there yet; we have much work to do in defining the parameters of the Internet,\' Dann said. The task force will include identity-authentication experts, non-profit groups, academic leaders and other technology companies, the groups said. Full CNET News report Full report in The New York Times Full Internet News report My Space statement

In other developments, a federal grand jury has indicted an unidentified man on a charge of transporting child pornography via the Internet. The man has been dubbed ‘John Doe 13’ and his is the 13th such case to be investigated and prosecuted through the Endangered Child Alert Programme, initiated by the FBI and the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. The Chesterton Tribune reports that the Endangered Child Alert Programme used national and international media exposure of unknown adult perpetrators featured in child pornography in an effort to identify, locate, apprehend, and prosecute such offenders and to rescue abused children. The US Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana said the case was prompted by an Indiana resident who collected child pornography and used the Internet to trade illegal materials. Full Chesterton Tribune report