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FTC "Concerned" About MySpace & Other Networking Sites

June 29, 2006

• Facebook Agrees to Upgrade Safety Measures • Hanna Montana Photo Flap Part of a Trend • New Jersey Investigating College Gossip Site • No Easy Remedy for Imposter Postings on Social Networking Sites • Social Networking Sites Not the Biggest Danger for Teens? • Keeping Teens Safe Online • MySpace Agrees To Toughen Security For Young Users • MySpace Harassment Case Takes Odd Turn • Texas Sues Kids' Web Sites • States Keep the Heat on Facebook, MySpace • Texas Rounds Up 14 Sex Offenders on MySpace • New Jersey Subpoenas Facebook • Predator Who Used MySpace Gets Seven-Year Sentence • Facebook Has 'A Long Way to Go,' Investigators Say • Cuomo Charges Facebook Ignores Sexual Predators • MySpace Deletes More Sex Offenders • New Jersey Targets Sex Offenders With MySpace Profiles • States To Get MySpace Sex Offender Data • MySpace Deletes Thousands Of Sex Offenders • States Press MySpace For Data On Sex Offenders • Survey Finds Teen Behaviors Linked with Victimization • New MySpace Security Measures May Be Too Late • MySpace Builds Database to Target Predators • Pittsburgh Man Arrested in MySpace Sex Case • New Scam Targets MySpace Users • States Cracking Down on Dating Sites • MySpace Glitch Gives Hackers Teen Data • FTC "Concerned" About MySpace & Other Networking Sites • Texas Teen Sues MySpace for $30 Million • MySpace Debuts $1.99 Video Downloads • Massachusetts Puts Heat on MySpace.com • MySpace Names Security Czar • Connecticut Asks MySpace to Provide Blocking Software to Parents • What's Inside MySpace.com? • Connecticut Opens MySpace.Com Probe --- • MySpace Complaints • Facebook Complaints

The Federal Trade Commission has told Congress it is concerned about potential danger to children who visit social networking Web sites, such as MySpace.com.

In testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, FTC Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour said there is a "need for social networking Web sites -- individually, collectively, and, most importantly, expeditiously -- to develop and implement safety features to protect children who visit their sites and empower parents to protect their children when they do so."

Last month, the FTC provided advice for parents and children about safely using social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and others. The tips are featured on one of the most popular sections of OnGuard Online, an online education resource covering safe and secure computing.

"At the same time that social networking Web sites offer online communication, camaraderie, and community among teens and tweens, they, like other activities on the Internet, also can pose risks," Harbour said.

"Because the information that children post on their online journals, web logs or 'blogs' can be accessed by other Internet users, social networking Web sites raise heightened privacy and security concerns. In particular, sexual predators may use the information that children provide on social networking sites to identify, contact, and exploit them, unless these sites are constructed to reduce access to this information, or users themselves take steps to limit unwanted access."

The FTC is also responsible for enforcing the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires Web site operators to take several steps before they collect, use, or disclose personal information from a child under the age of 13.

COPPA also requires that operators notify parents about their Web site's privacy policies and obtain verifiable consent from a parent or guardian before collecting personal information from children.

Web site operators also must establish and maintain reasonable procedures to protect the confidentiality, security, and integrity of the personal information they collect. The testimony noted that the FTC staff currently is investigating several social networking Web sites to determine whether they are complying.

"The social networking industry has a clear incentive to create a safe online community," Harbour said. "They owe this to their users, and sites that do not make online safety a priority may find it hard to compete with those that do."

"Some social networking Web sites already allow users to restrict access to the information they post, such as by creating sites with more closed, defined communities or enhancing specific privacy features on their sites," Harbour said.

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