Tuesday, April 11, 2006

MySpace reaching out to parents

CNET News.com: "The media frenzy around MySpace.com has struck a nerve with parents fretting about what their kids are doing online.
Now the social networking site, along with other Net companies and child advocate groups, is trying to calm those parents about what their kids are doing online and what tools they have to deal with it.
On Tuesday, MySpace and other Fox-owned interactive media properties are expected to announce the hiring of a chief security officer, Hemanshu (Hemu) Nigam, a former Justice Department prosecutor who specialized in child exploitation cases. He will handle all education, safety, privacy and law enforcement programs for MySpace and other Fox properties.
MySpace has also hired more employees to handle security and customer care--roughly 100 people, or one-third of its workforce, scout out inappropriate content or underage members.
'Lots and lots of parents want their kids' profiles down,' said Parry Aftab, executive director of WiredSafety.org, a nonprofit organization that provides safety and health information. Aftab has worked for years with MySpace and other social networks to design safety guidelines. 'But we all need to take a breath and fashion solutions to address the real problem, which is how much information kids are putting online and who are they communicating with online.'"

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