WASHINGTON, May 16 (UPI) -- The social networking Web site MySpace said it needs subpoenas from state attorneys general looking for sex offenders who belong to the site.
MySpace said it was "doing everything short of breaking the law to ensure that the information about these predators gets to the proper authorities," The New York Times reported Wednesday.
But an attorney general seeking the names of known sex offenders who are members of MySpace, which is popular with teenagers, said subpoenas shouldn't be necessary to get sex offenders' names.
"I do believe it is disingenuous and disappointing because much of the information that we have sought, specifically the numbers of convicted sex offenders on the site require no subpoena or any other compulsory process," Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told the Times. Blumenthal is working with a group of 50 attorneys general seeking the information.
"We have a valid and viable need to know about convicted sexual offenders who may pose a threat to children," he said.
MySpace said the Electronic Communications Privacy Act "prohibits us from disclosing the information they're seeking without a subpoena."
A company official told the Times MySpace has removed the profile of thousands of sex offenders since the beginning of May.
