Written By Kate Zimmermann | January 23, 2007 | Share This |

Only a few days after they were hit with a series of sexual assault lawsuits, MySpace is trying to clean up its act. As of today, the site has additional safety features and privacy verifications that will help protect users. Forbes writes, “MySpace will now require all users to register with valid e-mail addresses. Those older than 18 will also be blocked from contacting younger users, a program that was previously available only for users under 16.” Furthermore, MySpace will post local “amber alerts” about abducted children based on users’ registered zip codes.

The security additions, with the recently launched “Zephyr” software (that will give parents control over minors’ MySpace pages), are MySpace’s response to mounting criticism from parents. Most significantly, four families are suing MySpace for millions of dollars in damages, after their underage daughters were assaulted by men they met on MySpace. The families are claiming “negligence, recklessness, fraud and negligent misrepresentation.” Jason Itkin, one family lawyer, told Reuters, “In our view, MySpace waited entirely too long to attempt to institute meaningful security measures that effectively increase the safety of their underage users.”

Incidentally, MySpace has filed its own suit against “spam king” Scott Richter, for sending unsolicited ads disguised as messages from friends. Says Search Engine Watch, “The suit is another reminder of the ongoing corrosion of social media sites by spam and marketing exploitation.”

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