“Before, most people wouldn’t consider sharing their real identities online. But Facebook has offered a safe and trusted environment for people to interact online, which has made millions of people comfortable expressing more about themselves.”

– Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Feb. 3, 2009

Thousands of sex offenders in New York have had their Facebook and MySpace accounts disabled under a New York State law passed last year that requires them to register their emails and online aliases with the state.

Some 4,500 registered offenders have been kicked off the sites in recent weeks–2,782 from Facebook and 1,796 from MySpace thanks to the Electronic Security and Targeting of Online Predators Act, also known as E-STOP. This would be reassuring were it not for the fact that there are 30,000 convicted sex offenders in New York and only a percentage of them gave their social network information to authorities.

What of those who didn’t? And what of those in states other than New York?

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• MySpace: A Place for “Friends”
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The social network today said it has identified and ousted 90,000 sex offenders–40,000 more than it first reported last year when it was subpoenaed by the Connecticut Attorney General’s office as part of an effort to protect minors on social-networking sites. “This shocking revelation–resulting from our subpoena–provides compelling proof that social-networking sites remain rife with sexual predators,” Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a statement. “Nearly 100,000 convicted sex offenders with MySpace profiles powerfully refutes the recent task force report–based on outdated and incomplete data–falsely downplaying the threat of predators on social-networking sites.”

Now, 90,000 individuals is a pittance, considering MySpace had 124.9 million unique visitors in December, according to comScore. But it is unsettling nonetheless since the MySpace profiles removed were those of registered sex offenders dim enough to use their real names. Surely there are many, many more at large using aliases. Ultimately, MySpace has absolutely no idea how many registered sex offenders it’s harboring; nor does it have an effective means of prohibiting those it has identified and ousted from returning.

Consider this: In July 2007, MySpace made a big deal of locating and deleting the profiles of 29,000 registered sex offenders from its site. Not two years later, it’s deleting triple that number.

The social network today said it has identified and ousted 90,000 sex offenders–40,000 more than it first reported last year when it was subpoenaed by the Connecticut Attorney General’s office as part of an effort to protect minors on social-networking sites. “This shocking revelation–resulting from our subpoena–provides compelling proof that social-networking sites remain rife with sexual predators,” Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a statement. “Nearly 100,000 convicted sex offenders with MySpace profiles powerfully refutes the recent task force report–based on outdated and incomplete data–falsely downplaying the threat of predators on social-networking sites.”

Now, 90,000 individuals is a pittance, considering MySpace had 124.9 million unique visitors in December, according to comScore. But it is unsettling nonetheless since the MySpace profiles removed were those of registered sex offenders dim enough to use their real names. Surely there are many, many more at large using aliases. Ultimately, MySpace has absolutely no idea how many registered sex offenders it’s harboring; nor does it have an effective means of prohibiting those it has identified and ousted from returning.

Consider this: In July 2007, MySpace made a big deal of locating and deleting the profiles of 29,000 registered sex offenders from its site. Not two years later, it’s deleting triple that number.