January 14, 2008
Enough Is Enough® Applauds Landmark Partnership Between MySpace & State AGs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cris Clapp
(703)595-3986
Crisclapp@Enough.org
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH APPLAUDS LANDMARK PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN MYSPACE & STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL
Myspace and Attorneys General representing 49 states and the District of Columbia today unveiled Key Principles of Social Networking Sites Safety designed for industry-wide adoption relating to online safety tools, technology, education and law enforcement cooperation. Over the past two years, Enough Is Enough® (EIE) has encouraged state Attorneys General to come alongside and partner with Myspace.com to build closer collaborative efforts between Industry and enforcement to protect our children online, most critically the sexual exploitation of our children online.
"As the Internet continues to transform the lives of our teens, we must work together to increase Internet safety standards industry-wide, and the adoption of these key principles by MySpace and the Attorneys General is a perfect example", said EIE President, Donna Rice Hughes. Although EIE believes that parents are the first line of defense in protecting children against Internet dangers, EIE has long-held that the most effective way to protect children online is through a preventative, three-pronged approach between parents, the Internet industry and the legal community, providing the surest foundation for success in the battle to protect children online.
MySpace has devoted meaningful resources to Internet safety education, including becoming a sponsor of EIE's cutting-edge Internet Safety 101®: Empowering Parents Program, and EIE looks forward to sustained, proactive initiatives to protect kids online from others in the Internet industry.
"Myspace continues to be a luminary within the Internet Industry; they have acted with courage and have proven their dedication to protecting children online. Great things happen when we work together. Although facing these emerging dangers and finding points of cooperation can be daunting, we believe this partnership will serve as a catalyst--a spark to create a chain reaction of extraordinary, positive events and powerful outcomes against the darkness of sexual predators and online pornography," said Mrs. Hughes.
EIE will continue to work with groups like Myspace to make our virtual streets as safe as the streets we walk and drive on everyday. EIE also urges other social networking sites, such as Facebook, Xanga and Bebo to implement best practices to protect their users and empower parents to protect their kids in these spaces.
Mrs. Hughes will serve on Myspace's industry-wide Internet Safety Technical Task Force to develop online safety tools, including a review of age-verification and identity authentication tools and will continue to advise Myspace.com on new ways to reach parents and protect children online. The Task Force will include Internet businesses, identity authentication experts, non-profit organizations, academics and technology companies. Mrs. Hughes has served on the Virginia Attorney General's Youth Internet Safety Task Force. Mrs. Hughes was a member of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) Commission formed to examine technological solutions to protect children online, and she also served as co-chair of the COPA Hearings on filtering/ratings/labeling technologies and technical solutions to protect children.