MySpace and Fox Pledge Millions For Web Safety Campaign

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Brad Malin <b.malin () vanderbilt edu>
Date: July 14, 2006 9:09:44 AM EDT

Subject: MySpace and Fox Pledge Millions For Web Safety Campaign

My concern is that while they are investing millions - it doesn't  
appear to
be towards technology development, but rather education of parents and
teens.  It's like saying, "we only build the technology"... Hmm... I've
heard this argument before.

-brad


http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17167

Attorneys general from at least four states have issued calls for  
MySpace to
do more to protect teens.
By Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) -- The parent company of MySpace.com and Fox is devoting
millions of dollars in television air time and online ad space for a  
public
service campaign on Internet safety.

Central to News Corp.'s campaign, announced Thursday, is a spot  
featuring
Kiefer Sutherland, who plays Jack Bauer on the Fox action drama ''24.''

''On TV Jack Bauer has 24 hours to make the world safe. In real life  
it only
takes a few minutes to do the same for our kids,'' Sutherland says. ''To
protect them you don't need the latest state-of-the-art technology.  
You just
need a few simple tips: Don't let them run into trouble on the  
Internet --
use common sense.''

The 20-second ad then directs viewers to CommonSense.com, a site run by
Common Sense Media, a nonprofit group that monitors and reviews media  
and
entertainment for parents. There, parents may download a guidebook  
and a tip
card on Internet safety.

The campaign comes as parents, schools and law-enforcement officials
increasingly warn about the dangers of sexual predators at social- 
networking
sites, which provide messaging and other tools to encourage users to  
expand
their circles of friends.

MySpace has gotten the brunt of the attention given its position as the
industry leader, with some 92 million registered users, about 20  
percent of
them minors.

In June, the mother of a Texas teenager who claims she was sexually
assaulted by another MySpace user sued the social-networking site and  
News
Corp., seeking $30 million in damages. The lawsuit claims MySpace is
negligent in protecting teen users despite numerous warnings of the  
dangers.

Attorneys general from at least four states also have issued calls for
MySpace to do more to protect teens.

Over the past several months, MySpace has responded to the concerns by
hiring a safety chief and changing its privacy policies to try to  
make it
more difficult for adults to contact younger teens.

MySpace and other News Corp. sites also had earlier run ads aimed at
educating users about the dangers.

The new campaign is directed at educating parents and teens on what  
they can
do.

''We can build the best technology features in the world and the best  
safety
features, but unless we raise education and awareness around the use of
those, it doesn't do anything,'' said Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace's chief
security officer.

The spot is to run on several Fox cable stations, including FX, Fox  
Movie
Channel and the National Geographic channel. Online video ads will  
appear on
MySpace.com, FoxSports.com, IGN.com, AmericanIdol.com and other Fox
Interactive Media sites.

Nigam could not say how much News Corp. was committing, other than to  
say it
was ''millions and millions of dollars worth of time and space.''



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