To protect our kids, today Facebook agreed to increase their security standard even more than previously reported. Both Facebook and MySpace, the number two and one of the social networking sites, have tried to do what they can to keep child predators and unwanted advertising from our kids. Of the 50 United States and Washington, D.C., 49 of them have endorsed the new standards, Texas being the odd-man-out.

Facebook is now taking part in the Internet Safety Task Force created by MySpace, Inc working with the Attorney General. As a part of the agreement, both sites are implementing new features designed to protect our kids.

Under this new agreement, Facebook has agreed to:

• Require companies offering widgets or applications to put into place and enforce Facebook’s safety and privacy guidelines.
• Maintain and continuously update a list of pornographic Web sites and regularly eliminate any links to those sites.
• Regularly review models for abuse reporting and perform a test using the New Jersey Attorney General’s abuse reporting icon.
• Restrict searches by over-18 users so they cannot seek under-18 users.
• Identify and remove profiles of all registered sex offenders.
• Provide privacy controls to allow users to block access to their profiles, restrict information available to users who are not their friends and prevent another user from contacting them.

It was interesting to me to learn that a group of state attorney generals had to fight MySpace last May for their list of registered sex offenders names. Like its private??!  I mean, it’s protecting children…why the fight?

In May, 2007, according to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, “There are at least 5,000 registered convicted sex offenders with MySpace profiles posing an immediate, urgent risk to children — potentially violating their parole and probation, and requiring more vigilant measures. MySpace has decided to do the right thing, but additional steps are necessary, such as age verification, to protect children from predators on social networking sites.”

Now, get this! After MySpace turned over their list in July 2007, it was found that MySpace had ~ 29,000 registered sex offenders! OMG!

I ask  you, how can any website, business or networking group keep a list like this private? Moreover, how can they knowingly allow child predators to have a place on their network that only allows them to prey more on our children? I know, it’s private, it’s confidential and it’s business…but, it’s our children!

In defense of MySpace, in December 2007, they hired Sentinel Tech Holdings to check their site for registered sex offenders. Uncovered again, thousands more sex offenders!

Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, Twitter, etc all need to realize that they are making money from our children and owe them the responsible due diligence of looking out for them. Our children are the only future the human race has, we must all protect them.

My experience: I have two teenage step-children and had access to their Facebook pages for several years. My 18 yo hasn’t ever had a problem with unwanted requests and she’s female. She also doesn’t add anyone she doesn’t know personally. However, the 15 yo male…hmmm. He’s always in big trouble ;-). When I look at his space, that he knows I watch, he has sites listed as favorite groups, pages or applications that even make his father blush.

My son that is in his late 20’s has been on Facebook forever and when he was a minor, didn’t problems with predators because he “didn’t have time to waste on them”.

I’ve been on MySpace for a while now and Facebook just less than a year. I’ve never received anything I didn’t want or add anyone I didn’t want to add. Of course, I’m an adult and its obvious by my profile. However, from what I’ve learned through our 15 yo is that if you answer or reply to one x-rated (for lack of a better word) request - you get them all. It’s like a red-light goes off on your site.

My girlfriend in Florida had an ex-bo that said “everyone gets these comments,” referring to the x-rated requests. This is so not true.

Just this past week, my hubby, who enjoys learning about different parts of the world because of the business he’s in, requested the add of a 16 yo girl in Facebook. No! He’s not a child predator at all and doesn’t get his jollies from girls younger than his daughter. She was in a group he was visiting and lives in a really cool place that he and I’ve talked about visiting so he wanted to ask her about the area. He’s listed as being married along with his age. Her repsonse to him was funny and not insulting other than she told him, in a 16 yo way, he was old and married. I laughed - a lot! He explained to her what he was interested in. She responded to his request about the area and has since added him as a friend.

The reason I told you this story is because my husband did find a way to get access to a minor. Even though he’s not a bad person, how did this young girl know that. It’s not like 16 yo’s have a sixth sense about danger, right?

For me, there’s still a way for predators to get to our kids. Do we need more rules and regs in a world-wide arena? Or, do we, as parents, need to know what are kids are doing and who they are doing it with? It’s difficult, trust me, I know how difficult it is to keep track of a teenager, especially once they get wheels! But, we need to try. And, if we fail…we need to keep trying. Rules, regulations, cyberspace or just the friend next door…our kids don’t know what we know. We have to protect them. They are the future of the human race.

As a last comment, feel free to request an add from me on MySpace or Facebook. My info is in the links above. And, if you’re a sex offender and want to try to get to my kids through my sites…they’re not listed.

~Diana