“Any proposition that shuts down access to the Internet is not appropriate.”

 

-- Hemanshu Nigam, federal prosecutor and father of four in a BusinessWeek Online interview.  This interview, given after a symposium on Internet security hosted by National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, tackles some of the ins and outs of Instant Messaging, Blogging, and other Internet 2.0 technologies. 

 

To read the entire interview >>>click here<<<

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This information is provided as a community service only.  Zacher Network Solutions is not affiliated with BusinessWeek or MySpace.

Stare directly into the center of this video and look away when instructed.

(ZNS News, 23 June 2006, 20:00 CST) -- The State of Oklahoma has declared an Amber Alert for all Oklahoma counties at 6:34 PM on June 23, 2006.  The Jenks Police Department reported that Karen Curly, 8 and Tiona Hurly, 11 were last seen with Tiffany Sharpe, 31 in a Maroon 2 door 1996 Buick.  If you have any information on this alleged crime, please contact the Jenks Police Department (918) 299-6311. It has not been determined if the Internet has played a role.

However, we do know that an automobile played a role in this crime.  Most abductions of minors by adults involve automobiles.  Shouldn’t it be mandated that automakers build cars that protect minors from abduction by child predators.  In fact, it would be a bonus if they could be added by American workers as the autos enter the country.

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© 2006 Zacher Network Solutions.  All rights reserved.  All opinions expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the editor.

(ZNS News, 20 June 2006, 06:00 CST) -- Missing since June 19, Gabrielle Bechen, 12, was found buried in a set of shallow graves along with her ATV and Helmet in a field near her rural Appalachian home.  Jeffrey R. Martin, 48, a worker at a horse farm Bechen frequented is apparently responsible for the strangulation murder of the young girl.   It is doubted that the Internet played a role in the crime.

 

On Monday attorney Carl Barry filed a $30 million dollar lawsuit against the social networking site MySpace.com.  The suit alleges that MySpace.com is responsible for the attack on Barry’s client, a 14-year-old girl, by Pete Solis, 19, who posed as a High School football player in his MySpace profile.  Solis abused the trust he built with the young lady in order to lure her away from home and sexually assault her.  Barry claims that MySpace is responsible since there is absolutely nothing in place to protect minors from adults.

 

We can wonder who will make a case against the Horse Farm and ATV manufacturer in Bechen’s death.  There was obviously nothing in place to protect Bechen from being brutally murdered.  Our constitution guarantees us equal protection under the law.  If it is found that MySpace should provide extra protections, wouldn’t horse farms, which are used for social networking in rural areas, necessarily need to install similar protections?  Should it now be mandated that ATV’s operated by minors be equipped with UPS laden emergency communications?  Can we honestly expect anyone else to be responsible for our own safety?

 

Furthermore, I would propose that if MySpace.com is responsible for this horrific crime that Barry’s client’s parents should also be held criminally responsible for criminal neglect of a minor child.

 

Maybe everyone that has an Internet profile needs to add the following disclaimer – “For Entertainment Purposes Only.”  With predatory lawyers lurking around, we all need to do everything in our power to limit our liability. 

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© 2006 Zacher Network Solutions.  All rights reserved.  All opinions expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the editor.