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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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Sex Offenders Kicked Off MySpace Land on Facebook

Company analyzing data for MySpace says of 90K booted, minimum 8K back online

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(Newser) – MySpace grabbed headlines today when it announced that it had kicked 90,000 registered sex offenders off the site over the past 2 years. Where did they all go? Many went to Facebook, says Sentinel, the security firm that roots out such offenders for MySpace. “We found over 8,000 offenders on their site without much effort,” the CEO told TechCrunch.

MySpace is Sentinel’s biggest client, so Erick Schonfeld investigated for TechCrunch, matching names provided by Sentinel with publicly available mugshots. He found them fairly easily as well. A spokesman for Facebook said it would investigate immediately, but cautioned that positively identifying them would require “more than a name and a photo the size of your thumb.”

This composite image, compiled by Tech Crunch from publicly available mug shots, shows sex offenders who appear to have Facebook accounts.
This composite image, compiled by Tech Crunch from publicly available mug shots, shows sex offenders who appear to have Facebook accounts.
Facebook has some sex offenders on it, according to a security firm employed by rival MySpace.
Facebook has some sex offenders on it, according to a security firm employed by rival MySpace.   (Getty Images)
News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, who owns the social networking Web site MySpace, speaks at the company's Global Energy Initiative in this 2007 file photo.
News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, who owns the social networking Web site MySpace, speaks at the company's Global Energy Initiative in this 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo)
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For a company that has a mission to keep kids safe, we find it irresponsible that they wouldn’t share this with us. Or, if not with us, how about with law enforcement? - Barry Schmidt, Facebook spokesman, on Sentinal

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5 comments
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PaleRider
Feb 3, 09 11:56 PM CST
Not really a problem unless you "Friend" them. ??? Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
RatsInArabia
Apr 7, 09 7:59 PM CDT
you don't understand how many people accept friend requests of total strangers. I know several girls that accepted a request from the same guy (because they saw he had friends in common) and he turned out to be some psycho stalker and police had to get involved.
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Shannonals
Feb 4, 09 2:38 AM CST
C'mon, is MySpce acting as if they are being responsible or trying to send all future sex offenders to FaceBook to smear Facebook? Reply
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Ryan
Feb 4, 09 5:58 AM CST
10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know: . http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-privacy/ Reply
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Collusive
Feb 4, 09 2:14 PM CST
well where else are me and my buds supposed to go? friendster? Reply
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