MySpace (finally) Moves To Curb Sex Predators

With all the media attention it gets, it seems like convicted murderers, pedophiles, and sex offenders (in addition to the usual folk) tend to roam free and with abandon on MySpace.  But it seems at long last, MySpace is taking up some accountability on the issue.  The AP reports that it is partnering up with a Sentinel Holding Corp to build a database within 30 days, of convicted sex offenders in all of the United States, describing their names and physical appearances.  Software would then trawl MySpace for matches according to that data, and employees would delete accounts.

While this (anything) is a step in the right direction, surely there must be a better system in evolution. After all, it doesn’t take much to change your own stats on MySpace, or, create a new identity with fake attributes.  More than that, what about accounts that have a similarity to registered sex offenders — does every acount get manually screened before they’re deleted?  Or will they get algorithmically tagged and obliterated?

I applaud any effort by MySpace to crack down on perverts of any kind, but here’s hoping that its just one of many steps in the right direction.