MySpace- Assaulted Girl's Family's Case Dismissed - Texas

For those of you who haven't followed this case, a 13-year-old girl from Austin signed up on MySpace (where the minimum age is 14), claimed to be 18 years old, met a 19-year-old guy, and was sexually assaulted.

The parents sued MySpace claiming negligence, fraud, and negligent interpretation.

The judge dismissed the case claiming that MySpace is protected under the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (read more about the act and Supreme Court cases involving it).

The family plans to appeal. There are similar pending cases in Los Angeles.

The article ends with reminding us that family protection groups fault MySpace for not using safeguards like age verification rules.

The article, of course, fails to mention the multitude of safeguards available for parents who want to know which sites their children are visiting and what they are doing there.