MySpaceSafetyTips.com

Under pressure from 49 Attorneys General nationwide, MySpace has agreed to apply 74 new safety measures that will help protect younger users from online predators. As reported in the Hartford (CT) Courant:

In the coming months, 16- and 17-year-olds who create profiles on MySpace will see them automatically set to "private," a default setting previously applied to 14- and 15-year-olds only. When a profile is set to private, no one can view it unless the creator of the profile allows them.

Connecticut's Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who personally thanked us for our effort in protecting children and young teens when we wrote MySpace Safety: 51 Tips for Teens and Parents, said:

"This historic agreement is by no means the end. It is another step, a very promising step, toward establishing an industry gold standard. ... It is our hope the entire industry will reach higher to keep kids safe."

The Hartford Courant article goes on to say:

As part of the agreement, MySpace agreed to independent monitoring and to lead an Internet safety task force that will explore ways to make the Internet safer for all users, including the use of innovative age verification software. While the attorneys general say the existing software is sufficient to protect children, engineers at MySpace say it is flawed and are considering other options. The task force will file reports every three months and issue industry recommendations at the end of 2008.

In our view, this is a remarkable event, and signifies a recognition by MySpace that security for young people has long been lacking on the site.

Young people love MySpace because it's a great place for expressing yourself and interacting with friends. It's great news that MySpace will now take broader steps to ensure the safety of its young denizens.