MySpace, state AGs state safety principles

NEW YORK, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- MySpace and 49 attorneys general from around the United States Monday revealed a joint effort to promote safety principles to increase teens' online safety.

The Joint Statement on Key Principles of Social Networking Sites Safety include tools, technology education and law enforcement cooperation, News Corp., MySpace owner, said in a news release.

In addition, the attorneys general for 49 states and the District of Columbia also called on other social networking sites and Internet provides with communities to adopt the principles regarding online safety.

The principles cover four areas that involve practices MySpace employs, MySpace executives said.

The principles call for reviewing content, setting teens' profiles to "private" and deleting registered sex offenders from MySpace.com. The principles also call for devoting meaningful resources to Internet safety education, such as announcements to parents and parental control software.

The parties will continue to work to enhance the ability of law enforcement officials to investigate and prosecute Internet crimes, the principles said.

Lastly, MySpace will organize an industry-wide Internet Safety Technical Task Force to develop online safety tools and review identity authentication tools. The task force will include Internet businesses, identity authentication experts, non-profit organizations, scholars and technology companies.