hannamyluv - 8:04 pm on Jan 19, 2007 (gmt 0)

If a kid was attacked in a park would they sue the the local gov for putting the park there

Not if it happened once, but if it became a constant and the government did nothing to stop it (step up police, put in more lights, etc.), you bet they would sue and have for that matter. They aren't sueing because MySpace is there, but because MySpace is failing to take action with known safty issues.

The logistics, cost, and privacy implications would be huge.

Will someone please explain to me what the privacy implications are in having to give your age?!? We have to do it all the time in the offline world, why does it become a privacy concern online?

But beyond that, I am surprised that the government has not pushed the issue already. My 11 year old son can't buy alcohol in a store, but nothing is really stopping him from doing so at an online wine store. Same for p()rn and other "adult" things.

Logistics and cost are just something we should deal with. I am sure it is costly and a logistical nightmare to register every driver and vehical on the road, but we manage it somehow, albeit through lengthy hours spent DMV on Saturdays. But it benifits society as a whole, so we do it.

The soomer we get off our rumps and stop saying "Well, it's too costly and painful", the sooner the internet will become a kinder gentler place. And before anyone gets all up in arms about the freedom of the internet, the Wild West was a romantic idea as well, but civilazation eventually has to step in.

The fact is that as legitimate business people (most of us anyway) we would benifit from an internet where people didn't feel that they or their children were threatened. It would mean more people using it which translates to more $$$$ for all.

[edited by: hannamyluv at 8:09 pm (utc) on Jan. 19, 2007]