Mouse clicks are leading convicted sex offenders into a 50-state dragnet as social networking sites are subpoened to turn over membership details. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Mouse clicks are leading convicted sex offenders into a 50-state dragnet as social networking sites are subpoened to turn over membership details. Photo / Brett Phibbs
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NEW YORK - New Jersey State Attorney General Anne Milgram says her office has subpoenaed Facebook to discover whether convicted sex offenders in the state have profiles on the popular social networking site.
Milgram issued the subpoena to Facebook along with letters to 11 other social networking sitesasking them to compare member accounts against a list of sex offenders.
Facebook has until October 12 to respond to the subpoena, which asks for all information concerning any user identified as a convicted sex offender.
The Attorney General's office said the subpoena is similar to one issued earlier this year to MySpace, the larger social networking site owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
It said MySpace identified 268 registered sex offenders in New Jersey with MySpace accounts and eliminated the profiles.
The move comes a week after New York State's Attorney General Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed Facebook, accusing the site of not keeping young users safe from sexual predators and not responding to user complaints.
A joint 50-state investigation is looking into Facebook, MySpace and other social networks over concerns they may fall short in protecting young users.
