MySpace to Provide Sex-Offender Data

Site Had Rejected States' Request

Jim Hood of Mississippi, one of eight state attorneys general seeking information from MySpace, said: "We may very well find that some of the messages included illegal enticement of a child." (By Rogelio V. Solis -- Associated Press)

Faced with legal demands from state attorneys general, MySpace.com said yesterday that it would release information on registered sex offenders it has identified and removed from the social-networking Web site.

The company, citing federal privacy laws, initially rejected a demand from North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper and attorneys general in seven other states who last week asked for the number of registered sex offenders using the site and where they live.

MySpace, whose users to create online profiles of themselves and send messages to other members, agreed to provide the information to all states after some of the attorneys general filed subpoenas or took other legal actions to demand it. The company said last week that it could not release the information without the legal action.

MySpace, which is owned by News Corp., had always planned to share information on sex offenders it had identified and has already removed about 7,000 profiles, of a total of about 180 million, said Michael Angus, MySpace's executive vice president and general counsel.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he used a subpoena that "compels this information right away -- within hours, not weeks, without delay -- because it is vital to protecting children."

"Many of these sex offenders may have violated their parole or probation by contacting or soliciting children on MySpace," Blumenthal said.

MySpace obtained the information from Sentinel Tech Holding., with which the company partnered in December to build a database with information on sex offenders in the United States. Angus said the company also arranged for law enforcement agencies to use the Sentinel software directly.

"We developed Sentinel Safe from scratch because there was no means to weed them out and get them off of our site," Angus said of the sex offenders. "This is no different than an offline community. We're trying to keep it safe."

Cooper, Blumenthal and attorneys general in Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania asked for the Sentinel data last week.

Cooper said the information might be used to look for parole violations or help in investigations. He said lawmakers in North Carolina were considering legislation that would further restrict access to social-networking Web sites, including one that would require parents' permission for minors to set up profiles.

Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann said sharing the information was a good first step toward enacting such protections. "MySpace needs to do more, including implementing an effective age-verification system that will make the site considerably safer," he said.

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said his office would also subpoena the records.