Sex Convicts May Face Internet Ban

NY bill aims to keep 25K offenders off social websites
By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 29, 2008 6:45 PM CST
Sex Convicts May Face Internet Ban
Facebook.com's mastermind, Mark Zuckerberg smiles at his office in Palo Alto, Calif., Monday, Feb. 5, 2007. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)   (Associated Press)

New York's 25,000 convicted sex criminals will be banned from Facebook and MySpace if a bill unveiled today becomes law, CNET reports. Dubbed E-Stop, the legislation requires sex convicts to submit online identities and screen names so participating sites can block them. Those who committed a sex crime over the Internet would have usage controlled by the state's parole board.

Facebook and MySpace applauded the measure. "This bill complements technology we've already put in place to remove registered sex offenders from our community," MySpace's security officer said. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and two state lawmakers presented the bill, saying kids today are in much greater danger than in generations past. (More social networking stories.)

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