State to get MySpace sex offenders list
The social networking Web site will share data on sex offenders
A deal with MySpace.com could help Hawaii and other states find out whether convicted sex offenders have not learned from their crimes.
The social-networking Web site announced yesterday it would share information with attorneys general about registered sex offenders who have created personal profiles online.
MySpace, owned by News Corp., partnered with Sentinel Tech Holding Corp. in December to compile information on sex offenders in the United States. The site has already deleted about 7,000 profiles out of about 180 million.
WHAT'S NEXT
» Hawaii will tap into a database being used by MySpace.com to check whether registered sex offenders are setting up online profiles.
» MySpace will share the information with federal, state and county law enforcement officials.
» Knowing that a convicted sex offender set up a personal Web page allows officials to investigate possible parole or probation violations.
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State Deputy Attorney General Kristin Izumi-Nitao said MySpace will turn over IP addresses and e-mails of any registered Hawaii sex offender who sets up an account with the site.
"MySpace has promised to remove them from their database and send that information to us," said Izumi-Nitao, with the Hawaii High Technology Crime Unit/Hawaii Internet Crimes Against Children. "Right now we have no idea where Hawaii is on the spectrum with respect to registered sex offenders participating on MySpace."
Two Hawaii men charged this month with electronic enticement of a child had MySpace accounts, she said.
Law enforcement officials say the data will show whether convicted sex offenders are violating parole or probation by using a computer or contacting minors. Some 2,460 sex offenders are registered in Hawaii.
Social-networking giant MySpace.com agreed yesterday to give Hawaii officials access to a national database to flag and remove members guilty of sex crimes.
"The information we will receive will help us to protect kids," said state Attorney General Mark Bennett.
MySpace balked last week when attorneys general from eight states demanded the information, arguing federal privacy laws required states to file subpoenas or other legal requests.
In an about-face, the company consented to share data with states about registered sex offenders who are having their profiles deleted from the popular Web site.
State Deputy Attorney General Kristin Izumi-Nitao said MySpace will turn over IP addresses and e-mails of Hawaii sex offenders found to have set up personal online pages.
"MySpace has promised to remove them from their database and send that information to us," said Izumi-Nitao, who is with the Hawaii High Technology Crime Unit/Hawaii Internet Crimes Against Children. "Right now we have no idea where Hawaii is on the spectrum with respect to registered sex offenders participating on MySpace."
MySpace, owned by media conglomerate News Corp., partnered with Sentinel Tech Holding Corp. in December to compile information on sex offenders in the United States.
MySpace General Counsel Mike Angus said the site has already used that database to remove about 7,000 profiles out of about 180 million.
The technology, which belongs to Sentinel Tech, can be used by other social networking sites, Angus said.
Law enforcement officials say the data can reveal whether convicted sex offenders are violating parole or probation by using a computer or contacting minors. Some 2,460 sex offenders are registered in Hawaii.
Two Hawaii men charged this month with electronic enticement of a child had MySpace accounts, Izumi-Nitao said.
On Wednesday, authorities charged 23-year-old Ivan Sakata, two days after he was arrested at Kahala Mall, where he allegedly arranged to pick up someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl whom he met in an Internet chat room.
And on May 3, an Oahu grand jury indicted 54-year-old Daryl Godfrey Lee. Police arrested Lee at Kakaako Waterfront Park, where he went to meet a person whom he believed was a 14-year-old girl he met online.
MySpace allows users to create online profiles with photos, music and personal information, and lets them send messages to one another and, in many cases, browse other profiles.
Hawaii is not yet asking other social networking sites, such as hi5.com or Facebook.com -- which have about 50 million and 18 million users, respectively -- to check whether they have sex offenders signed up, Izumi-Nitao said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
