Teen Sues MySpace For Not Protecting Her

from the blame-the-one-with-the-money dept

It had to happen sooner or later. With all of the attempts by the press, “family groups” and politicians to blame MySpace for the irresponsible behavior of its members, someone was going to sue eventually. A mother and her teen daughter are now suing MySpace and News Corp. for $30 million for not protecting the 14-year-old girl from being sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old boy. Clearly, the 19-year-old was at fault here — and has been arrested for his actions. To then go on and sue MySpace is ridiculous. Do people sue the phone company for facilitating sexual assault when it happens over the phone? Or the ISP when it happens over email? This is just a blatant attempt to cash in on an unfortunate situation.


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Comments on “Teen Sues MySpace For Not Protecting Her”

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209 Comments
Joel says:

Re: This has to end

Well – on initial perusal it would seem this is frivolous however I am now wary of only knowing a tiny bit of the story. I felt the lady at McDonalds was dumb for suing cause she spilled coffee on herself until I learned popular culture and the media had it all wrong. The complaint was that the coffee McDonalds served her was SO hot that it actually melted the styrofoam cup in her hand and the coffee dumped on her. However someone spun the story against her like she was incompetent when that was far from the truth.

Peter Fitzwell says:

Re: Re: This has to end

“The complaint was that the coffee McDonalds served her was SO hot that it actually melted the styrofoam cup in her hand and the coffee dumped on her.”

Wow! McDonalds must have been brewing their coffee in a pressure cooker! I mean, styrofoam really shouldn’t melt at the boiling point of water, and since coffee is by in large, flavored water, I really doubt the styrofoam would have melted even if the coffee was served at boiling temperature. Or, maybe the styrofoam did melt. Seems that she should have sued the cup manufacturer.

Hmmm…. fishy-fishy….

EdB (user link) says:

Re: Re: Re: This has to end

No melted styrofoam, but coffee just under boiling. She had to have skin grafts okay? And the MickeyD’s in question had hundreds of complaints for coffee that was too hot. Way hotter than BigMac told them to brew it, and not held to cool off prior to sale like BigMac told them to do. In short the site decide to serve up cups of boiling water and this lady happened to be unlucky enough to have the lid pop off in her lap. Skin grafts. From “coffee”.

Christie says:

Re: This has to end

I agree with you on the most part. But I have to say something about the Coffee Lady. I used to think as you did.. “Oh my god, please! Coffee is supposed to be hot lady! Get a clue!”

But even I have come to realize coffee can be TOO hot. She didnt sue because her coffee was hot and it burnt her. She sued because it was near boiling (or somewhere in the vicinity) and it scalded her.

No coffee should ever be hot enough to do more than make you hiss and jump up. Hospital stays not involved.

Some things look frivolous are really arent.

Suing Myspace because you have a stupid teenage daughter who hasnt been exposed to enough real world stuff that she actually thought going out with a boy she had never met to the movies and dinner was a good idea?

THAT is Frivolous. I dont even blame the Mother all that much… I did things behind my parents back and it wasnt because they were bad parents. Its because I strived to make sure they didnt find out!

I blame the girl. She is stupid. Not saying she deserved what happened (because that man is a sicko), but because she put herself in that position in the first place.

Ronde says:

pathetic people

The fact that the girl had her own MySpace and that she chose to chat with people on it was her fault. Yes the bot is at fault for assualting her but it is completely her fault that she even met him. The guy was arrested and thats it, there is no need to go any further and sue MySpace. Her and her mom are both just greedy bitches trying to get money.

Mark says:

Re: Good Grief

” They should not only throw the case out but take the child away from the mom. Obviously she can not control or supervise her own daughter thus she should be removed fromt he home, That will teach her! “

I belive this approach is more what is needed than anything. It is the PARENTS responsibility for the child.

In fact in many states, if your underage child buglarizes, the parents can be held liable, and in some cases jailed. This is no different, except the child in this case did not commit a crime, but knowingly commited and immoral act. The child is taughtr to c ontinue that immoral act with a frivbolous lawsuit.

Why is it that if this “child” commited murder, in many states she would be tried as an adult, but in this case she needs to hide behind that “child” label for unjust protection , when she obviosly played her part in the meeting.

TAKE THE KID FROM THE IRRESPONSIBLE MOTHER

A Network Admin says:

She deserves it

She probably did it and when he didnt wanna be with her ass she decided to cry about it. I’ve seen this happen before. Sueing myspace is so stupid just as the article says. Its not their fault the stupid girl was dumb enough to hook up with a 19 year old in the first place. Did they make her do it, no, did they make her get into a compromising situation with a 19 year old, no. god people are so dumb i feel stupider just knowing they walk the earth.

Anonymous Coward says:

Re: She deserves it

You feel dumber knowing people like her walk the earth? How the hell do you think I felt when I read YOUR response? She probably “asked for it” and then cried when she didn’t get it???!! Are you insane?! (Rhetorical question, in case, you actually think of answering it) It is a case of VERY bad parenting. Very, vary bad parenting. First, for allowing her daughter on the Internet in the first place, second for allowing the contact between a ninteen year old and her under-age daughter to exist and third, for suing the wrong party in a legal dispute.

Anonymous Coward says:

Re: She deserves it

You feel dumber knowing people like her walk the earth? How the hell do you think I felt when I read YOUR response? She probably “asked for it” and then cried when she didn’t get it???!! Are you insane?! (Rhetorical question, in case, you actually think of answering it) It is a case of VERY bad parenting. Very, vary bad parenting. First, for allowing her daughter on the Internet in the first place, second for allowing the contact between a ninteen year old and her under-age daughter to exist and third, for suing the wrong party in a legal dispute.

boogie says:

dosn’t myspace have a UA [User Agrement]?

legal bable stuff saying there not lieable for any that that happens to you.. or is that there not lieable for what happens to your computer? ether way.. arnt thay like by law not lieable for actions of its users? like Kazaa and Sharbear and other file sharing networks saying that thay are not lieble for your actions?

yes i know myspace isnt filesharing just those were the only things that came to mind

pfft.. says:

“…or the hot coffee lady who spilled coffee on herself and sued for it. ”

Although a cup of coffee is supposed to be “hot”, the problem in this case was that it was at/near boiling temperature when served. It most likely would have burned her one way or another, but your crotch tends to suffer a little longer than your mouth.

Was she stupid? Yes Should the coffee been so dangerously hot? No Oh well…$hit happens.

MySpace User says:

I think MySpace should just require users to be 18 and over. That way they cover their asses from underaged fools who feel they have been “taken advantage of”. Chances are, the kiddies will just lie about their age in order to stay on MySpace, but at least MySpace won’t be at fault. It all boils down to the parents and their ability (or lack thereof) to monitor their children.

Anonymous Coward says:

Re: Re:

if the user is under 18 there is this HUGE warning thing that says “under 18” or something…it is not up to myspace to babysit…this comes down to once again parents not being parents…if parents watched their kids these lawsuits would never happen…but they dont hence why we have the grand theft auto lawsuits, the marilyn manson lawsuits, the ratings lawsuits, its a neverending event in this country…parents dont have to be parents anymore its always someone elses fault..so unless her profile was fake (which wouldnt surprise me its the internet afterall) its both of their faults…she should never have met this person and he should never have assaulted her…he’s being punished for what he did and she should be punished for wasting tax dolllars on something this frivilous

My Space User says:

Re: Re: The McDonald's case is a pet peeve of mine

I am a Myspace user and there is a lot of smut out there. However Parents need to protect thier kids from things such as this. Most importantly parents need to instill moral values in thier children so they don’t put themselves in those types of situations. I certainly won’t allow my kids to use things such as Myspace as dating sites. Parents can easily view what is going up on there kids sites by simply logging on and viewing thier profiles. And They Should…

Disgusted American says:

No one ever owns up to their faults

The guy should be in jail. I want to start with that. The legal system appears to have this part right.

But money grubbing mom and daughter suing MySpace because this 14 y/o met a stranger that was at least 17 or 18 (she knew he was a senior), that is a crock. It is not MySpace’s job to make sure that this little 14 y/o is properly supervised and not being a bit of a whore. Sorry if I sound judgemental, but I think this is part of what is wrong with our country anymore. Nothing is our fault. Someone should have prevented us from doing something we know better than to do.

Maybe whore is a bit strong of a word, but I know that if my little sister had asked to go and hang out with a senior when she was that age..one that parents did not know. They would have laughed at her, and possibly grounded her for even asking. So I think maybe mother and daughter should sue each other, and leave MySpace out of it.

Dan says:

Well I read the original article, and it seems like the main point of the lawsuit is that myspace isn’t protecting its members by verifying any of the user information. They argue that myspace should require either credit card information or a verified email address (like the one I have from my college) Here is the prolem with that, myspace appeals to all the kids, it is their own space. How many 15 year olds do you know with a credit card, verified email address, drivers liscense, or anything else that you might dare trust an online company with to verify your identity? I didn’t have anything that I would trust myspace with untill I was 18 and went to college. The email address they gave me would have verified my identity, but my then I was past myspace’s prime market. If this lawsuit goes through it will kill myspace because 90% of their users will not be able, or willing to verify their identies.

Joseph says:

wow

It is very unfurtunate what has happened to this young child,however it is ridiculas that her and her parents are sueing myspace, the blame should actually be put on her parents for not keeping the computer in which this girl was useing in a family room without supervision, if anyone is to blame it is the parents who have neglected their child, and since they cannot sue themselves they should have children services called on them and do an investgation on the whole family wtf is this darn world coming to when people want to pass the blame and not take responciblity for their own and thier chilren’s action,,,,,,,I LOVE MYSPACE,,,, but i am carfull of who i talk to and who i invite into my life,,, Tom i am behind you 100% man dont take it laying down fight it to the end, I love ya man ,, peace out.

Objectiveness says:

MySpace partial fault.

I read the article linked to this post and it seem like the mySpace had not done a very good job at screening underage users. The lawsuit is a clear overkill and it will probably end in fiasco but most likely MySpace’s age reuirements will get tighter just to prevent similar lawsuits. According to article the company was notifeid by officials about theys bad screening process but nothing was done. This lawsuit will make sure something is done about it.

Disgusted American says:

Re: MySpace partial fault.

Do you really think so? I read the article also, and it sounds like everyone else expecting MySpace to do the parent’s job. The fact that this girl knew the boy was a senior, hence at least 3 years her senior, shows that she was not all that naive about what was going on.

I really feel bad that she was assulted, but MySpace cannot stop her from talking to a stranger that she sees at the mall and thinks is attractive. The same guy could have met her at the mall and approached her, she would have giggled and flirted and trade phone numbers. Then the same thing would have happened. Would she then sue the mall for not protecting her from the 19 year old man?

Where does it end? Does this girl realize her lawsuit essentially means says she thinks that cars should have auto speed control that speed limit signs control, that McDonald’s should have a detection system that can tell when she is full and take the rest of her food away, or that if she is up past 9pm on a school night, a school official should come and place her in her bed and tie her down because she is not able to control this herself. This is just greed and lack of responsiblity, except for the assailant (sp). It seems that he is getting what is due to him, but I think the mother might need some guidance from child warefare services, and the girl needs to talk with someone about self control and responbility.

Sorry, but I just think that we are opening doorways to total and complete loss of free will if we keep suing because someone didn’t stop us from doing something that we KNEW we should not be doing.

Sir Chi says:

Re: Re: MySpace partial fault.

Disgusted American:

I’m impressed, good points made, I never really thought of it that way. Kind of scary to think that we’re suing corperations for not telling us what we can/can’t do. Next the government will come in and take advantage of cases likke this, and justify the right of herding us like sheep/cattle by stripping us of our free will, since this case clearly states that we as teenages/parents don’t know ANY better.

*shiver* (feels freedom being eyed by evil politicians)

Disgusted American says:

Re: Re: Re: MySpace partial fault.

Thanks for the compliment SirChi. I mean it may seem extreme, but it seems to be opening the door to a controlled society. If we have to sue everytime someone does not supervise us, then we do not need to be allowed to have freedoms at all. Sorry about some of the bad grammar in that post. I was just a bit worked up about this. I know someone that was going to sue because of something that happened that they knew they should not be doing, and it just makes me ill. It was hard to say that to a friend, but I thought it was time to speak up. 🙂

christina says:

Re: Re: MySpace partial fault.

omg u are seriously so right. best way to sum it all up. i cant believe people are being so ridiculous. that mother needs to do some growing up of her own! clearly this is the mother daughter and 19 y/o’s fault. myspace was just a link. pretty sure a website shouldnt be responsible for making sure people who dont know eachother not meet. every1 has minds of their own. the 14 y/o is acting so immature and dumb, along with the mother.

Josh Keefer (user link) says:

Stupidity.

Yeah seriously, as an avid myspace user to get my photography out in the world, i see young teenage girls dressing like porn stars and they are 15 and 16 and then i see who they have added as friends, its like big black dudes and old white men and mexicans…but see people have a little something called…common sense. which this girl clearly doesnt have…perhaps she has a mental disability…

myspace is good for me i enjoy the bussiness ive been getting…its a tool that can be effectivly used by bands, websites, and artists like me…but like other tools it can be abused by a child molester…but in this case she wasnt innocent like a child, she knew what she was doing.

Sir Chi says:

MySpace at ZERO fault.

Keeping underage children off a website, is their parents job. MySpace cannot keep kids off myspace by uping the age to 18 lets says, because they will just freakin’ lie.

Parents need to get up off their irresponsible hides and watch what their kids do for a goddamn change, and stop expecting everything to be automated service. If you wanted MySpace to watch your kids for you, pay them like you pay a nanny, and continue to shell out money and be just a useless a parent as you’ve ever been.

As for this case: throw it out of Court.

As for the plaintiffs: throw them into exile for being pathetic.

As for the plaintiff’s lawyers: throw them off our Earth, and purge the world of more stupidity.

Objectiveness: Just no. You seem like one of those useless “I want everything done for me” type of parents (or future parent). For the sake of yourself, and your possible children, lets hope you don’t have any (at least until you get your head out of your… butt).

LILWIP says:

Re: MYSPACE

You are a dumbass. I have met several of my closest friends on the internet, and met my wife, the mother of my 2 children on the internet.

There is nothing wrong with meeting people who you chat with in person. It is just as safe as meeting someone in church, at the grocery store, at the mall, or at a bar. There are still safety precautions that you must take.

The issue at hand isn’t that the girl met someone on the internet and then met them in person. The issue is that her PARENTAL GUIDANCE (or lack thereof) led her to believe that it was ok that she was 14 and was meeting a 19 year old for dinner, a movie, and back to his place. I don’t know too many 19 year olds that aren’t bags of raging hormones lookin for a quickie.

Nomad91 says:

Re: Re: MYSPACE

This is ambulance chasing. The parent is exploiting her daught’s poor judgement for monetary gain. The girl could have stopped the relationship anytime prior to the date, but she didn’t. Is rape really the issue? Isn’t it more likely that the teen had sex and the parent found out? The parent instead of handling the siduation like an adult, had the man arrested and jailed. The parent wanting more attention, solicited a lawyer to bilk MySpace out of $30Million? I don’t see how this benefits the teen unless the parent has promised her a large share of the money. This whole case sounds a lot like the M.Jackson case (or any other frivillous case ment to bilk the wealthy).

“To create an account, a MySpace user must list a name, an e-mail address, sex, country and date of birth.”

Anything short of a genetic sample wound’t be undeniable proof of identity. Ultimately everything comes down to trust. The parent gives her child the tools to make sound decisions but must trust that her child will do so. MySpace must trust that it’s users are being truthful in their registration data and upon confirmation, believe that the user has indeed read the EULA and agrees with it. This is indeed a case of bad parenting but not in the way she raised her daughter, but in the way she herself handles herself in bad siduations.

Analyst says:

Not a good comparison

Comparing myspace.com to a simple point-to-point transport, like the 80+ year old phone service, is foolish.

First of all, myspace.com provides a directory service far more complex than a phone directory, and lists kids. (Try to get a phone listing as a 14 year old, with the label “TeenHotty”.)

Second, myspace.com provides a huge number of “features” that go beyond point to point communication, such as hosted content, (including pictures). If you try to compare this with voicemail service, again — consider if a 14 year old can get voicemail service on their own from AT&T.

The problem is simply that content hosting companies which accept content from people not of full legal age (18 in America) have to be cognisent of the risks. Myspace.com has played fast and loose with the risks because they wanted to grow quickly, and now that problem is coming back to roost.

Anonymous Coward says:

Re: Not a good comparison

Actually, it’s a damn good comparison.

The printed press is much older than the telephone and people put out Personal Ads. Perhaps the phone didn’t appeal to your sensibilities, but the argument is that you can’t sue the vessel for the contents. How about newspapers with “personal ads” which has led to dubious “anonymous” meetings with dire consequences. Myspace has done nothing new, nothing novel, nothing out of the ordinary. They have only carried messages, and in the case of this frivolous lawsuit, the message of an asshole to the eyes of an idiot. The blame lies firmly in several places, but not with the medium used to carry it.

A more appropriate analogy might be printing presses, publishers and more to the analogy, books. Remember, not only the Bible (whatever religeon you acknowledge) was written down in books, but so was “Mein Kampf”. Can you sue the author of that book? The publisher? All publishers of all books? The owners of the printing presses? The producers of the ink the printing press used?

Clearly the logic does not hold, no matter how many blood cells flush your face. Try putting some of that angry blood in your brain and think of it logically. This is an absurd argument, and one that should be treated harshly as opportunistic and riding the wave of popular anti-myspace and anti-Internet bias.

The owners and employees of myspace.com are no saints. They have plenty to atone for, but… this shameless plea for someone to blame is not among them.

Ben says:

How is this anyone's fault but the man who did it?

To say that this is the parent’s fault is ridiculous! I wouldn’t want my parents hanging over my shoulder constantly to monitor my online activity. This is partially the girl’s fault for not being responsible, but nobody seems to want to blame the assailant. Myspace holds no responsibility to this and should not be sued.

Disgusted American says:

Re: How is this anyone's fault but the man who did

Many posts in this have mentioned that he was wrong and should be in jail. No one disagrees with this. We just think that the MySpace people cannot control and should not control this. This girl was going to meet her a guy one way or another it sounds like. Like I said earlier, who is to say she sees this same man at the mall and doesn’t leave with him there. Parents love to leave their kids at the mall unsupervised, but the kids make these choices. Responsibility is just something that no one wants to take on this issue.

Jochan says:

Re: How is this anyone's fault but the man who did

Ben:

You might not want your parents to butt into your business, but if your business is likely to get you sexually assaulted and they are butting in to prevent it, that’s called *parenting*.

Everyone involved in this bears some of the responsibility for the outcome, IMO, MySpace to a lesser extent (legally speaking) since their EULA likely exonorates them from wrongdoing. They appear to have done what can be done without infringing on the civil liberties of those who use their site (see also Disgruntled American’s comments).

Problem with freedom is, it can get you hurt. Bad decisions get made. So you own up, learn and move on.

At least, that’s the hope.

WirelessGuy says:

This is such the commentary on the failings of our

Look, I understand that the parents are to blame for some, the 19 year is to blame for a lot, and the 14 yr old is just naive, but society should be a mechanism to allow people to grow up with some protections. I mean would you knowingly allow people to do harm to others? If you could do something to stop the rape of a 14 year old girl, wouldn’t you do something?

Now I am not saying that the lawsuit has merits, but realistically what service does myspace provide for social benefit, or is there no effort in this world to protect our children from being stupid (which we all were at 14, so lets not kid ourselves) If it took a 80 year woman with 3rd degree burns to get McD’s to cool off coffee, why did we wait till a 14 yr old got raped to realize that this site really should have had more parental controls to prevent this crap from happening.

We as adults should do everything we can do to protect any child from any part of the world. It is our jobs to do so. If you live in a box and only care about your own family and not the children of others, then get off of my planet, your taking up valuable space, air and water.

Sometimes people see only the money, which typically is set high enough to get attention, rather than show what the parents are actually after. If they sue for $10, then MySPace just settles and moves on. This way they get the press they want, the exposure the problem needs, and I really doubt the family wouldn’t give any amount to have their daughter not go through the years of nightmares and self loathing she will have, so back off a bit and think of how you would act if it was your daughter….

TerminalX says:

Re: This is such the commentary on the failings of

myspace is a social-networking site with over 80 million people it is impossible to screen every profile, there is no way to know if her profile was real or not, she did not buy the pc her parents did, since its the parents pc they should be being parents and see what their kids are doing…this is not myspaces fault…they didnt hold a gun to her head and say meet this person or else, or you need to put pictures on so skeevy guys can harass you

Adam says:

Re: This is such the commentary on the failings of

“If you could do something to stop the rape of a 14 year old girl, wouldn’t you do something?”

Something, yes, but not anything. Supposing I were present, with a loaded handgun, something that could be done is shooting the girl in the head, preventing the rape. That would work, but is not a valid solution to the problem. Shooting the guy in the head, while still illegal, would be deemed far more acceptable by pretty much the whole of society. Threatening the guy with the gun, telling the girl to call 911, and holding the guy at gunpoint until the police arrive, that is an even better solution (except for the people who feel that someone who would rape a 14 year old girl deserves a shot in the head.) I don’t get arrested, she doesn’t get raped, and he gets to go to jail for a very long time.

Many of these MySpace problems could be ‘cured’ by draconian censorship laws, much like the ones in use in China. That would probably solve the problem, as the people smart enough to bypass that sort of thing probably aren’t dumb enough to get into these kinds of situations. Turn America into a police state, and you might be able to destroy most of the chances for the pedophiles roaming the malls. But these are not valid solutions to the problem. Benjamin Franklin once said: “People who would trade liberty for security will end up with neither.”

LiLWiP says:

Re: This is such the commentary on the failings of

WirelessGuy,

This wouldn’t BE my daughter. And it wouldn’t be the daughter of ANY RESPONSIBLE PARENT…. It has been mentioned numerous times in previous posts and I will reiterate. PARENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTIONS OF THEIR CHILDREN… Say it with me….

These parents and this girl are the type of people who sues the gun manufacturer and the bullet manufacturer because they made the gun and bullet that someone shot a family member with, and the government for not having stronger gun control laws, etc….

They are the people who sues the webhosting company and the ISP because someone put up a website that they disagree with.

They are the type of people who would file a suit against techdirt because someones post “hurt their feelings”.

They are the type of people who feel that they should not be held responsible for their own actions. It is the Governments job to monitor everything we do to keep us safe. It is their job to pass numerous repetitive laws to protect us from our own stupidity. We shouldn’t need to LEARN from our mistakes. We should pass legislation making sure that our mistakes become illegal and thus noone else can repeat them. OH, and we should pay them HALF our salaries every year to do these things for us!

They are the type of people who should be forced to move to a remote island so that the rest of us don’t have to read about their ignorance.

Tom Milewski says:

If your child is walking down the street and a man pulls up and offers a piece of candy and your child gets in…

Do you sue the candy company for providing such an irresistable product?
Do you sue the car company for providing the criminal a means of transportation?

In the end it was your child that got in the car.

Anonymous Coward says:

Re: Changes

Both parents do NOT need to wrok, IF they would cut back on the frills of life.

I live in California, and my family is doing just fine on one income.

Thank God I’m able to provide for my family, and the wife can stay home if she wants. Do we have all the fancy new toys ? Nope, but we’ve got a roof over our head, and a small backyard.

USA #1! says:

I’m filing a lawsuit against amaco cause some punk kid at the gas station decided to squirt me with the gas pump and throw a match at me…. After he goes to jail for a long time, somebody should still pay me money!

I hit a piece of wood in the road before too. I think it’s time I sued the department of transportation cause one of their users is a moron and didn’t tie it down….

Why do suits like this exist??? says:

Could stupid suits like this exist because the justice system is messed up? Almost everybody, if not all, here agree that the one at guilty is the boy, and although we feel sorry for the girl, it was her own fault along the mom’s lack of parenting guidance. However, Myspace gets the blame. We all see suits like this happen all the time!!! and that is pretty disturbing. When the general population agrees on one thing but the court ruling goes the opposite way, there’s something extremely wrong with the system.

j says:

ok, every one is going to hate me for this, but i don’t care. I wouldn’t always just blame the 19 yr old, and this is why: when i was 20 this girl came up to me in a book store and started flirting with me. She was cute, and “looked” about my age, so one thing lead to another, and after the “deed” was done, she confessed she was only 15! I about died, i thought for sure i was going to jail for HER decite! I don’t know if that is the case here, but i have seen young girls WILLINGLY seduce older guys in their late teens and early twenty’s. conclusion……BLAME THE PARENTS!!!!!!!

mike says:

McDonalds

Sorry to jerk at an off shoot of the conversation but I read the report on the McD’s case and it still doesn’t make sense. How does one manage to pour the entire contents of an upright container upon themselves especially while removing a lid? I could see if she was testing the lids steadfastness by holding it upside down and the top fell off but have you ever tried to pour liquid out of a cup that’s standing straight up?

Now in styrafoam cups there is some “give” and a shift in shape could have caused some liquid to spill out. You may shake your finger at me now and call it mearly symmantics (sp?) but realize this is a legal case. Whether it was the full cup or part of the cup matters. I’ve been burned before and know that a few drops of coffee vs the whole thing matters.

It’s still her responsability to make sure that she is safe with the coffee. If she was at home and the same thing happened, who would she sue? I’m sure she didn’t know that McDonald’s coffee was 185F. I’m sure she can’t tell the difference between 140F and 185F being poured on her. So how did she know? If it was at home would she have sued the coffee pot maker? What about the coffee company? There product in it’s inteded form can be dangerous. Maybe all coffee should need to be cold from now on.

I just think that everyone needs to take more responsability for their actions. You fall at company X because they didn’t mop up a spill and didn’t have warning signs, it’s their fault, lawsuit. They have signs and the aisle blocked off and you still walk down it, your fault.

BigEd says:

Sue the twit and her parents

They should counter sue the parents for being irresponsible in letting their daughter on in the first place and even letting her go out with this 19 year old. She got what she deserved and he’s getting what he deserves.

On my router, MySpace.com is blocked. None of my kids are aloud there…

don says:

myspace sucks

It is truly dissapointing that myspace is being sued, but they are not being responcible for the content of their site or monitoring whats on it or who is using it. I found that some of my daughters friends pages contained photos of minors consuming alcohol, drug use, and with photos of drugs as well and copyrighted photos? when i sent them an e-mail in question to this they basicly told me eat s__t and and dident even answer my questions correctly, i truly hope they get a little more control over their site, because the way its going now they are asking for trouble. the site does have its benefits though the police and schools can monitor students and drug dealers by checking out their pages and who they are talking to, i guess when find kids and druggies get smart they will stop using myspace

Disgusted American says:

Re: myspace sucks

One question. How would MySpace know the age of the girl / guy in a picture? I mean honestly a lot of kids try so hard to be grown up so young now.

And guess what, underage drinking and illegal drug use started WAY WAY WAY before the internet. So let us quit thinking that there is a contribution being made here by social network sites.

It is not MySpace’s job to control the actions that your children’s friends perform. I would hope you said something to your children about this. I must say though this is an interesting way to babysit kids. Let them go out and run around all the time with their friends, and then spy on MySpace and catch them doing something in a picture. How about talking to them about it and just praying that you did what you could do? That seemed to be what parents used to do.

And what kind of “trouble” is MySpace heading for exactly? I mean, the only person running a risk is the person posting the pictures. And even then, teachers using pictures from MySpace to get onto their students is tragic. It really is not the schools job to monitor what a child is doing at 7pm on a Saturday night. Or even over the summer. Schools have no right to suspend a student because there is a picture of them drinking on the internet. That is stupid, and does not even make sense. That is like saying that you can suspend kids that get a speeding ticket. Wake up.

As for police, well the kids know that the picture get looked at by lots of different people. There is a risk there. But like I said, you are not stopping any of these activites by busting them on MySpace. You just force them to hide it better. Maybe up front discussions would work better than hoping to just have some kind of supervision by social networking websites.

Parents are so out of touch with children anymore. It is sad that I spend more time with my little cousin than the parents do in a week on average. They have jobs, but they have all of their things to do also. Well when you become a parent, you lose some of that. Today’s parents just hope that the internet or TV will handle their job so they can still have “a life.” Well it doesn’t work that way. That’s being their buddy more than their parent. Sad really. Do not have kids if you are not ready to be a responsible parent that is proactive instead of reactive.

Okay I will step down from my soapbox now. Sorry if that got too long winded.

Kelly says:

Re: Re: myspace sucks

I think myspace is the shit

i talk to all my friends that i havent seen scence highschool

and make new friends after i moved to a new town!

If you dont like it then fine but whats the point of talking shit about it and blaming MYSPACE cuz there lil girls act like they are olderon it. you could put any age u want! and u can also make it privite so poeple dont talk to you

and they have a block were u can just block a person all together

if your stupid enough to go met up with some one you dont kno from myspace thats your own god damn fault!

simplebob says:

bad parenting?

“If you interact on MySpace, you are safe, but if a 13-year-old or 14-year-old goes out in person and meets someone she doesn’t know, that is always an unsafe endeavor,”

i concur with this statement. it’s the fault of the parents not the site. she had nothing to fear online. once she shuts the computer down and goes to meet this dude, it becomes the parents resonsibility.

tif says:

An interesting idea

While reading this article and these comments, my boyfriend reminded me about his problem with MySpace. He is fond of hanging out in cafes surfing the web, but about a week ago mentioned that he just couldn’t take it anymore. Every time he went to a new page it was breasts and naked girls left and right. I’ve noticed this too, how many of us have gotten “friend requests” from what was once known as camwhores? Its absurd.

An idea, how about instead of making all MySpace users submit some form of proof of age, just make anyone who wants to display a photograph submit that proof? This would at least eliminate part of the temptation of these predators. Further, the parents should be happier because nothing like finding out that little Jane’s display name is “Porn Star In Training,” and her picture is practically X-rated.

I do agree with what has been said above, so far as the fact that the parents should have taken a more active role, and that the lawsuit itself is frivolous. I do think it is somewhat unfair, and unrealistic to assume that all parents have the time, patience or aptitude to understand all of the trouble that their kids could be getting into. I think that this isn’t really a new or different problem. When he was a kid, my dad used to go get drunk in the dunes. When I was a kid, I used to sneak out my window, just to see my friends. We all do stupid things. The question here shouldn’t be who is to blame, but what we can all do to work at making it better.

And, as clichéd as that sounds, I think it really is true. I don’t think that protecting children is completely up to MySpace or up to the parents, or even up to us. Other users of MySpace. Query: How many times have you reported a user you suspected was underage? Yea, me either. It really is something we should all think about. One last note, forbidding things doesn’t make them go away. I would caution parents that simply block access to MySpace without explaining to their kids why. The kids are going to figure out ways around you, but you probably have a good enough relationship with them to explain the situation in such a way that they wont want to. Whatever you do, don’t underestimate your child’s ability to get in trouble, thwart your rules or find a nice sized loophole. That’s the best thing my folks ever did for me…

//tif

Disgusted American says:

Re: An interesting idea

Well thoughtout post. I guess I have been slinging the “blame” around more than I should have.

I just think it is sad that the mother is so greedy that she is using this sad event to milk some money.

We all could be more proactive some, but along the same lines, if I cannot tell if someone in a pic is a kid, I am not going to report it.

Point taken though about looking for better solutions instead of trying to blame people. And my mother to this day would be lost trying to figure out what I do on the internet. And loopholes are always to be found. I would just go to a friends house to watch Cinemax as a kid when my parents would not allow me to at home. So you are right about talking to them about MySpace, not just blocking it from them.

Once again good post, and thank you for stating the “she deserved it” remark was a bit harsh. No one likes what happened to this little girl. Instead of this lawsuit, maybe she should grow from this and speak to other young girls (and boys) about this kind of trap. Just a thought.

matt says:

im taking the girl’s side here… myspace doesnt have the protections that services like facebook have built-in, such as not being able to see someone’s profile before they confirm you as a friend. myspace needs to strengthen its privacy and prevent sick internet voyeurs from stalking cute girls. maybe you people should step up your game and pick up a chick like a man.

Disgusted American says:

Re: Re:

Interesting. Well once again as posted earlier, we will try and get the speed control installed on your car so you cannot speed, because the car companies allow you to speed and you do not know better.

And the whole macho “step up..” blah blah…lay off the testosterone (sp). Yes this are very sick people that need help, but that kind of attitude is not really going to change anything.

And “pick up a chick like a real man.” You are lucky there are not some hard core femanists on here reading or they would lay into you for that remark. Just because they are over 18, does not mean you should not show a woman some respect.

don says:

myspace sucks

my last sentance should of read…”i guess when kids and druggies get smart they will stop using myspace”, and if any of you fathers or moms are in question about your security, there are internet tracer programs out there for the criminals and police to find out who people are and where they live, and i guess some of you guys responding dont have daughters or small children or cousins or nieces or grand kids, but it does suck when some piece of trash rapes them, and it sucks even more when some irresponcible website knows that this is possible, but does nothing to stop it, or at least try to control it, that alone could be case enough.

LiLWiP says:

Re: myspace sucks

Calling myspace irresponsible because they allow freedom of speech and don’t police the postings of their userbase is ignorant. Do you also think that the NSA should be allowed to wiretap and record all of your phone conversations? You aren’t doing anything wrong.

But what if they are listening in. And what if you are in a bad mood and make an inane comment about shooting someone, or blowing something up. And the NSA’s software picks up on those keywords and flags your conversation. Now you have guys in black suits with guns at your door arresting you and putting you in a holding tank somewhere while they run an investigation. And maybe they will let you off, or maybe the freedoms that we hold dear are slowly slipping away from us because of jackasses like you who don’t want to be responsible for your actions…

I think that we should sue the post office because they delivered the letter that upset me. It isn’t my fault I opened it, it had my name on it.

Coraka says:

Bull S

People should know that this is a bunch of Bull Shit a 14 year should not even think about meeting someone from an online service. I have two kid that are 15 and 16 that know that people online can be REAL BAD and not to meet any of them unless I meet them first and any one that tries this BS with my Doughtier would have his ass kick and put in jail by me!

Link says:

poor kid… getting a myspace account isn’t bad, but puting your picture, birth date, address and info about you really pushes it; it’s not a dating service, and your friends most likely know when your birthday is, where you live and all about you. I understand she and her mother are upset, but sue myspace? Why don’t they sue that 19 year old kid? 1 Million dollars is a lot, but money isn’t going to take away what happened or make them happy.

don says:

myspace sucks by Disgusted American

I like your loaded questions, are you a interrogator?, I guess any responce to your questions would end up with a “insult someone or question their integrity or morals response”, but for the most part it sounds like your an optimist with a pessimistic attitude, but just to give you a little fuel for the fire, most parents dont have a clue what myspace is, i as well i did not know until my wife (doing her job, listening to her phone calls) overheard her telling a friend about it, my daughter is a very smart 15 year old and was popping up another screen when we would approach the computer to hide her misdeeds, so we had no reason to suspect. Then her friends began to change to a pretty crummy bunch and we were trying to find out where she was meeting them…….. aha, myspace, she was giving them the details about her, where she lived, her school and other tasty bits of info and all of her firends were doing the same.

We began to investigate and discovered everything about these other kids and their lives where they lived and when she invited them over i cornered them and asked them just exactly what that marijuana sign means (like i dont know) or why they have photos of drugs on their page?, and i sat them down and lectured them until they left(i was nice about it though), and every time i saw them later. For some reason my daughter lost all of those firends……Hmmmmm?. Anyways kids are wanting to grow up too fast and the way television makes them think they need to a famous dancer or rapper,rockstar,country singer or whatever, i was a kid once and i wanted to be famous as well, and some of them will believe anything to get there as well. i feel if you are your childs friend/parent they will not need to look for another one, but it takes a lot of paticence and i try not to forget how i was a lot like all of my kids.

Disgusted American says:

Re: myspace sucks by Disgusted American

My whole point is that MySpace is not responsible for the tragedy that happened. The young man and the young girl are both responsible at different levels. Hopefully instead of being destroyed by this she can grow from it.

But trying to pawn off that MySpace did not protect her isn’t going to help her grow in my opinion.

Sexual Assualt Victum (sjd) says:

Didn't report for this very reason

while setting here reading some of your responses…. it’s so clear why so many sexual assaults go unreported.. just for the perpertrator to do it again..

SHE IS FAR FROM AN AUTOMATIC WHORE FOR BEING ASSUALTED….AND LET’S SAY THAT THIS 14 YEAR OLD IS A WHORE.. DOES THAT AUTOMATICALLY GIVE HIM THE RIGHT TO DO AS HE PLEASES… I’M SURE ALOT ON HERE WOULD FIT THAT SAME STEREOTYPE…

she may or may not of used good judgement but I’m sure all of you “adults” on here has always used good judgement.. no I do not agree with them suing MySpace… but what better way to make changes and get the problem out there.. that is the only way in the US to get a problem addressed or noticed.. our legal system is very screwed up..

sector 82 says:

we need some bullet control

Suing myspace as the tool of choice for some 19 year old is like suing Smith and Wesson for someone using a gun to hold up a bank. if you’re a parent, you’re grieving….so you’re going to want retribution….it doesnt matter where it comes from. is it right? of course not. all this debate is about is parents seeking control from grief.

Anonymous Coward says:

I’m reading these responses and most have very valid points, but I keep seeing one thing; the area of responsibility and accountability continues to be skirted.

One solution noted is having MySpace up their age limit. In theory, this is an outstanding idea–in reality, it won’t work. Why? Because, kids LIE. When they want something, they can and will find a way to circumvent the rules to get what they want. Ok, so MySpace ups their access age and this situation continues to happen because some kid found Mommy or Daddy’s license number w/their birthdate and used that to create a profile. What now? Who gets the blame then?

Unfortunately, we don’t know the entire story, but what we *do* know is this: the girl willingly created an account and had correspondence with a boy/man she KNEW (as she admitted in the article) was much older than her. Her mother was not aware of this discourse (as far as we can tell from the article) and, despite knowing the pitfalls of allowing youngsters free reign to the internet, took no precautions to keep her child from putting herself into dangerous situations. If she *did* set up these safeguards, then the girl went around those safeguards to get what she wanted. Again, this girl knew the young man in question was older–just as he knew she was younger–yet both continued to communicate. The girl then went one step farther and met this character for dinner and a movie and as a result was attacked (unfortunately, because of her age, him physically touching her in any way other than a handshake can be construed as sexual assault). Should he go to jail–YES. He had NO BUSINESS meeting an underage girl in real life–regardless of the situation. But, in the end, both she and her mother bear a portion of the responsibility for this too. The girl for circumventing the rules and not using common sense to prevent this situation and the mother for not monitoring her child.

MySpace isn’t exactly innocent in this either, but in no way should they be attacked like this. Because of the nature of their business, short of violating privacy laws, their hands are sort of tied here. How many parents have admitted to letting their kids create MySpace accounts as an appeasement or as a treat for good behavior? When MySpace increases the age limit, do you honestly think those same parents won’t give their consent? They’ve already done so to this point. They’ll use whatever tools are necessary to give little Junior what s/he wants in an effort to seem ‘cool’ or to placate the kid. And again, you’re faced with the dilemma of a determined person (age notwithstanding) of finding a way to go around those rules to get that account. There’s only so much MySpace can do to offer ‘safety’ and ‘security’ to their users. After that, it’s up to the user to exercise common sense.

As someone posted earlier, if she’d met him in a mall or at a movie theatre while hanging out with friends and the same result occured, whose ‘fault’ (for lack of a better term) would it be then?

Common sense people. A little goes a long way.

SueLotsaTime says:

Why not sue Bars and Restaurants?

This is a joke of a lawsuit and the only crime is how much the lawyers will make before the case is thrown out.

Here’s an anology…Some woman goes to a bar, meets a guy who got in with a fake ID, agrees to go back to his place “for coffee:. Ends up getting raped.

So should she sue the bar owner for facilitating the rape? or for serving alcohol to her to impair her judgement when she was making the decision to go meet him?

LAWYERS = SCUM

VPR says:

Please! It’s not like MySpace posted a picture of the girl & said “I challenge you to molest this minor”. MySpace is simply a medium, just like this place is.

MySpace has no control over who meets who in person & where. That’s really the bottom line. All it does is connect people to other people (social networking, a concept yahoo chat, msn chat, vpchat, voodoochat, irc & the like have been doing since the dawn of the internet).

To say MySpace is responsible is stupid. If you feel different, sell your computer & stay off the net…it’s really not the place for you.

You can’t say the girl was “stupid” for meeting with the guy. She just did what every teen does–meet friends. Now getting in a car with a stranger is something different, but that’s a different story.

For those “MySpace could do more” folks, there are parental consent laws out there (COPPA), but that’s only for the ages of 13 and under. As far as MySpace is concerned (as well as the law), they collect the same amount of information from it’s members as the vast majority of similar sites and forums. Seems pretty damn reasonable to me.

The rest is up to the parents. Imagine that.

It doesn’t matter if MySpace meets the lowest standards of the law or strive to set the example, they meet the standards set by the law…period.

Casey says:

Myspace......

You Know What NONE Of That Would Have Happend

If She Wouldnt Have Added Him As A Friend On Myspace See Thats Where All These People Are WRONG FOR BLAMING MYSPACE ITS NOT MYSPACES FAULT ITS HERS FOR ADDING HIM AND NOT TO MENTION SHE GAVE HIM HER PHONE NUMBER MYSPACE DIDNT GIVE IT TO HIM SHE DID

Sooo There And About The 30 Million Thats Pure Bull Crap SHE IS JUST TRYIN TO GET SUM MONEY OUT OF THE DEAL …….HER PARENTS SHOULD HAVE

WATCHED HER AND CHECKED TO SEE WHAT SHE WAS DOING ON THE INTERNET ………I Love Myspace and So Does Everyone Else Who Has One

Casey says:

Myspace......

You Know What NONE Of That Would Have Happend
If She Wouldnt Have Added Him As A Friend On Myspace See Thats Where All These People Are WRONG FOR BLAMING MYSPACE ITS NOT MYSPACES FAULT ITS HERS FOR ADDING HIM AND NOT TO MENTION SHE GAVE HIM HER PHONE NUMBER MYSPACE DIDNT GIVE IT TO HIM SHE DID
Sooo There And About The 30 Million Thats Pure Bull Crap SHE IS JUST TRYIN TO GET SUM MONEY OUT OF THE DEAL …….HER PARENTS SHOULD HAVE
WATCHED HER AND CHECKED TO SEE WHAT SHE WAS DOING ON THE INTERNET ………I Love Myspace and So Does Everyone Else Who Has One

Luna says:

Monitor what your kids are doing online

Matt wrote: “…myspace doesnt have the protections that services like facebook have built-in, such as not being able to see someone’s profile before they confirm you as a friend…”

Yes, they do. I took a screen cap of what I see, when I click on one of my niece’s friends. You can see it here. (I added my opinion, in red)

When kids are under 16 (and they don’t lie about their age) their profiles are set to private. You can’t even send them a msg. unless *they* add you as a friend (or accept your friend request)

My SIL knows what my niece is doing on myspace and none of her “friends” are adults (or even older teens) unless they are people she knows (friends parents, relatives, etc…)

It is horrible, what happened to this girl, but it is not the fault of myspace – they have taken percautions, for underage kids. If children lie about their age, and their parents are not monitoring what they do online, how is myspace to blame?

Luna says:

Re: Monitor what your kids are doing online

To counter my point of responsible parenting – I took a screen cap of a page set up by a 12 yo. girl, who said she was 16. You can see it here.

I blocked out all info. that could identify her…and that was quite a bit of info. She clearly states she’s 12 – she give the name of her middle school and says what sport she plays. She listed her boyfriend’s first and last name (what is a 12 yo. doing with a bf anyway?) she also gives her IM user id and has a number of pictures, so she can easily be identified, by someone who wants to harm her (there are creeps out there, unfortunately)

On a final note, I did report her profile – I’ll check back to see if it was deleted.

fabfob says:

$30 Mill?

Hmm… First off the dude should have some jail time. If the girl was suing for something like *shutting down myspace so that other young girls wont fall into this trap* I can agree on that. But if its just for money then its kind of fishy. Oh i got into a relationship with some guy, oh its illeagal, oh smells like a lawsuit. Basically for the fact that they dont sue to close myspace down and sues them for 30 million means that they are greedy and dont really cared what happened.

Perry says:

MySpace NOT doing the job

I caught two different women emailing my 15 year old daughter, without my knowledge or consent…

They were both trying to, in the air of supposedly helping her, fill her head with shit against me, her father, because they each could not CONTROL me.

I have contacted MySpace many times, I have copies of messages sent to them, describing the situation… they have access to the emails…

I have demanded that the offending womens sites be removed and to have their software check for IP addresses so that they cannot create a new site from their computer.

They have REFUSED TO COOPERATE…

These two women, together or seperately, have created a site to harasse a fried of mine… My friend has informed MySpace of said harrassment… MySpace REFUSES TO REMOVE THE IMPOSTER SITE.

One of these women hacked into my site and sent emails to my friends… even threatening a couple other of my friends…

MySpace has been informed of ALL OF THIS… AND DOES NOTHING.

I have been in the computer industry for 38 years… I know what can be done… MySpace is not doing WHAT

it can do… It has, as a business, operating in the State of California (I have a phone number and address in L.A.)

under a license, to obey our written laws as well as the spirit of our society… Anyone out there stupid enough to say that it is OK for an adult to contact a child without the knowledge or consent of that childs parent.

And yes, my daughter finally told me… but after that, when I informed MySpace, something SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE, and wasn’t.

Adam Loewy, I am lookin for you… I tried 411 in Austin.

No Listing… how do I get in touch with you…?

Nomad91 says:

Re: MySpace NOT doing the job

Perry, your siduation is quite different. If you don’t want the emails, block the senders’ IP and email addys. If your children want to talk with them they’ll find a way. It’s not Myspace’s issue, it’s yours. You have what seems to be a fued going on and I don’t blame Myspace for not wanting to take sides. To be honest, if MySpace wanted to protect themselves they’d remove all accounts – yours and the other womens’. The only issue that warrants MySpace’s attention is that of account hacking. Mostlikely they just told you to change your pwd and use a better pwd next time. If Myspace accounts can be easily hacked then find another portal service that better protects it’s customer accounts. It’s up to you to protect yourself and your children when online.

All service companies have disgruntle customers. What matters is how they handle a majority of the claims. In this case they’re changing things to offer young users more privacy vs adults. It’s not going to fix anything but it’ll quiet the clamor that’s filling the press.

Anonymous Coward says:

Re: MySpace NOT doing the job

you r being stupid if you have a problem with people on myspace then take it up with them. myspace.com is the best myspace can’t just delete there site without checking there side of there story and they are so busy they can’t spare anyone god how old are you like 40-something years old and your wining about two teens god your stupid

Jason says:

Why should myspace suffer for this little 14vyear

She knew what she was doing and now crying to mommy. Now they are cashing in, sounds like a mother and daughter scheme to get rich quick. I would bet the mother is in on it. 30 million come on that F****** ridiculous. When are people going to start putting the blame back on their self., how could that irresponsible mom put the blame on my space when the dangers of my space are posted everywhere in the news. She needs to be B**** slapped, her and her daughter. The world is filled with dipsh**s and were stuck with them.

kim says:

dumb ass

I do not feel sorry for the girl for what happened. She was smart enough to know how setup a myspace account and she knew he was older and yet she still choose to meet him. That is know fault for putting herself in that sut. Myspace didnt tell her to meet him or even talk to him she did that own her own wishes. So she should live up to the decision she made.

Jesse (user link) says:

I guess noone wants to work for money anymore

I do feel bad for the girl for what happened. She wasn’t asking for that. But for years television, radio, gossip, etc. has talked about online predators and I believe there is no excuse that any parent can say that they haven’t been warned about this. I am not blaming parents for the rape itself, but the events leading to it such as, letting the CHILD get an account, not being sure she understands the user agreement, not putting the profile on private, not supervising her online actions, and not checking on her or making her check in when she was out. The girl is old enough to know what she is doing but, the child should have been taught about strangers when a young child till now. The girl needs to have not only better parents, but parents that should be teachers of life, and most of all guardians. No parent can say they did not know about myspace, or about predators because this was aired on T.V stations that didn’t require cable, and I’m sure they had a T.V if they had a computer with Internet. Also to add Internet has posted articles about predators too. America is giong broke on people refusing to work and refusing commit to society as AMERICAN CITIZENS as they should. Quit suing and get a job!!!

WDE says:

Hot Coffee and MySpace

The problem with MySpace is the same problem with most of these comment sites. It provides both an opportunity for good information and opinion to be spread and a pooling place for ignorance.

The issue with McDonalds hot coffee was this: The coffee was too hot for the cup – as the cup was designed by the manufacturer. McDonalds was told by the manufacturer to serve the coffee at a lower temp. or buy a more expensive cup – in order to be safe. McDonalds decided to do neither. The court decided that was negligent – and a jury awarded the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ verdict.

Now a similar court and jury will get to make a similar decision about MySpace. The problem is that all of you who enjoy MySpace are being so attractive to people who just want to sell you stuff – Hollister, Tag, Music, etc. – that MySpace can charge them a lot of money just to have their logo pop up while you are on IM or talking to your friends. The average newspaper decides what to charge for advertising by how many hundred or thousand people read it every day. A small add will cost a couple of hundred dollars for several thousand people to see it. A person who places an add on MySpace buys the opportunity for millions of people to see his product – multiply that couple of hundred dollars by serveral ten-thousand and you will have an idea what they make by “giving” you a free MySpace site.

Are they negligent? That is yet to be determined. That is what this lawsuit will prove. But – sorry, your opinion doesn’t count.

That will be decided in a court of law. My opinion? yes – they are negligent. They knew of the problem and have done nothing about it. Not only that – time will show that there are many other problems with this site that we don’t understand yet. It is just too new.

Hailey says:

maybe people should learn to watch there KIDS and not let them get on myspace and flirt with 19 yr olds im sure she didnt say she was 14 any way and there are to many little girls on here dressing and acting like hores and trying to act older like it will make them kooler there f*cking lame and the parents are f*cking lame for letting there kid do wat ever she wants

Anonymous Coward says:

i just thought i had 2 stop by and put in my two cent about this. why would you sue myspace obviosly the girl gave out sum info that she wasnt supposed 2. to me it looks like someo 1 just wants money but you cant sue myspace cuz u no how cray-z this world is today so u have 2 protect yourself. no 1 deserves 2 b sexual assualted but u no wuts rite 4rom wrong. second of all you gunna ruin it 4 millions of people b cuz myspace is the shit. let me tell u y. if my home boy or girl moved or something thats a way 2 keep in touch. so bye

ronnie says:

SLUT!!!!!

that dumb bitch shoud have been talking to people her age then she wouldn’t have been assulted. Myspace is not to blame it is her parents fault, they knew there daughter was a whore. Myspace is for friends and fun anyway. I would tell the mother fine another way to get rich. And kick rocks if she even think that she is going to get 30 million for that bullshit… I would laugh in her face. Petty ass shit moms.

CONCERNED MOM says:

IN MY SHOES

Ok, I have read several postings here. Everyone has a right to their own opinion. The responsibilities of a parent are great in numbers. The fear in a parents heart is just as great. Everyday you wake up wondering if you are doing the right thing and what you should or could do better. Unfortunately, no matter what you teach your child or how much you talk to them they will still make their own decisions. This is human nature. They say good parents don’t have children who get into trouble. I am here to say that is a myth of society.
I have 4 children which 2 of them had created MY SPACE accounts. One of them is responsible with his account and expresses himself, visits friends and so on. The other became every parents nightmare. CONSIQUENCES ARE OUR ALLIES. You must give your children consiquences. We have taken away the use of our computer in our home for months now. Unfortunately, our child who does not seem capable of making good decisions has found every way possbile to get back online. We are doing everything we can think of to monitor this child. Unfortunately, it has been a constant battle. She has found other ways to get around our road blocks. She is an intelligent,athletic beautiful girl who we hope and pray will figure out that we love her and want what is best for her.
Now to my point. I trully feel that in this day and age we as parents are responsible for the actions of our children to an extent. Our children are responsible for their own actions just as well. Society as a whole needs to also step up and take some responsibility also. MY SPACE as a company has a responsibilty to do everything in it’s power to control it’s site. As a team the parent’s of this girl and MY SPACE SHOULD WORK TOGETHER!!!! 30 MILLION should be put towards better securities and keeping children from harm. As a parent of 1 very trouble teen I have been and am in the shoes of this family. My daughter may not have been raped but, that is a fear for us. She is 15 and yes there is an 18 year old man involved in our story. Until you are in those shoes you should not condem this mother. IT WOULD NOT BE MY CHOICE FOR DEALING WITH THIS SITUATION BUT, SOMETIMES WE ARE BLINDED BY RAGE, FEAR,GUILT AND IGNORANCE. This mother may not see anything but rage right now. This rage is targeted at MY SPACE. Unfortunatley it should be targeted at the ways this was able to happen and finding ways to keep it from happening again. The people at MY SPACE should be concentrating on ways to prevent children from being on this site from being harmed. Phone companies, credit card companies etc. monitor calls. MY Space should take some of that money and create better ways of monitoring their site.I know people say “well you signed an agreement”. Children can not legally be bound by an agreement for the simple fact they are children. They are not capable of making fully responsible decisions. Hell, most adults aren’t either.
What I am saying is that everyone should be working together on this not passing blame. I is very easy to throw out an opinion because it is just that an opinion. For me and my husband we have one out of four children that we have this type of problem with. So, does that make us “PART GOOD PARENTS, PART BAD PARENTS”? Just because you may be fortunate not to have had this problem doesn’t mean you never will or that your parenting skills are any better. What it does mean is that you are just that, FORTUNATE!!! As I said, this mother may not be doing what I would do but, maybee this is all she knows to do. WE DON’T KNOW UNTIL WE ARE IN THOSE SHOES. You know I worked two jobs for years and quit one when we stareted having problems with my daughter. Don’t judge a person for working. You never know what the future holds. Stay at home moms have troubled children also. So do home school parents. That my friend is life.
Having a troubled teen is a EVERY parents nightmare. You feel lost with no control. Gaining control is hard work and dedication. I will say we are still struggling. We as parents should help each other for our sake also. These children are our furture. We should all pitch in to keep them safe and ourselves safe. After all we created this world that we live in as a group it is our job as a gruop to maintain it and not pass the blame. I know I am a ramlber but, my heart is in this one.
My husband is full time military and an Iraq war hero. He saved his unit from serious harm. For this he received a metal of Valor. So, we truly believe in the freedoms we all cherish. We do not want anyone to lose their freedom.
If by chance the mother of this young girl reads this, please check your heart, only you know. If anyone from my space reads this, please find a way to help keep our children and yours safe. For those lost in the past,this is not about “HOT COFFEE” GET OVER IT!!! For those parents who always do the right thing and have perfect children, WAKE UP, you don’t exist. For those who understand the importance of finding a way to help with the problem at hand,THANK YOU!! This is about our families our freedom and our futrue. PREVENTION AND WORKING TOGETHER. DO YOU GET IT???
Thank you to my husband, all his fellow soldiers and their families, for fighting so that we can all voice our opinions, good ones, bad ones, right ones, wrong ones.. Thank you all for reading my opinion and story. If I helped anyone see things differently I am gratefull, if not maybe nextime. I don not believe that I have all the answers or am the only person right. If that were the case I wouldn’t have a trouble teen would I?? Just remember, my shoes can be pretty difficult to walk in at times, I bet yours can be to..

julia says:

the article

It is the own girls fault she could of stopped and she could of blocked him and deleted her myspace and she should of only added people that she knew.I think she is way to young to even have a myspace. It is not Myspaces fault for what happend. She should of blocked him. Then none of this would of even happend. People need to stop trying to sue Myspace. Just dont be stupid about it. And i think that if you can have a myspace you should have the balls to block someone. I bet the little girl felt good about herself when he was talking to her about that. She probaly felt really good because the 19 year old man was hitting on her. She should have grown up from it. People need to learn to not to talk to strangers and her mother should have been talking and watching over her and the mother should have better rules about the computer. I bet that she even lied about her age. She was probaly egging that 19 year old guy on. Because if she was 14 her profile woulds be set as private. And if he sent her a message she should of just of deleted it and not replied which i bet she did. So before you try and sue Myspace why dont you take a look at your daughters myspace trashcan or her inbox and read what she wrore. Because it is not right for how you are trying to sue him for also what she did. Cause for all we know she could be saying that she was a 25 year old who was a stripper and worked at hooters people never know who people really are over the computer so people should only talk to people that they trust and know. There are alot of sickos out there. So stop trying to be Myspace to be a rich bitch!!!!!!!!!!!!

Concerned Parent says:

teen sues myspace

I see myspace more like a “store” made for adults. Now, they are allowing children ages 14 and up to go in that store and when the child asks to “purchase” adult items, the store owner Mr Myspace is letting that child have the adult items (in this case contacts to adults”. Children and adults need to be kept seperate. Why is Myspace not doing this? Because it’s a miltimillion dollar business making money out of targeted demographic groups which includes kids.

Susan Espy says:

Rape-tastic

This girl deserved to get raped. The only reason i say that is because she was a tease. Honestly i knew her in real life. She would always wear really sluty outfits. She would pose in these really whoreish myspace shots.

She talked about how she likes to take it in the butt from older men (probably because she used to let her older brother do it to her). Anyways she basicly wanted it to happen. She even told me about how she would invite strange guys over the house when her mom was home because getting caught turned her on

Not only that but she also used to make the little girl across the street watch and then lick her after she was done. She wanted to turn her into a slut just for the fun of it.

It is so obvious that she is just using this as an excuse to get attention. Trust me from a womans point of veiw.

This girl was a little tease who got what was cumming for her… or in her. : ) jk.

Susan

Jon Babins says:

I want to hear the details

Can i be honest?

There is nothing i would like to see more than a dirty little 14 year old slut get raped. That being said i don’t think this guy deserves to get in trouble.

He was doing her a favor. Every little girl needs to get broken in. Girls these days think they can just act like whores and get away with it.

News flash honey!

My only hope is that i can continue to rape little girls (as long as they have pubes) without having to deal with stupid stuff like jail.

Anyways, i really hope somebody rapes this girl again and then tapes it and shares it on the internet so guys all around the world can jerk off while watching this little slut cry her eyes out. The look on her face must have been priceless… grr i am so jelous.

Young girls like getting raped anyways.

Once i raped a 12 year old black chick right in front of her mother for $200. It was so worth it. I just told her how her mom sold her because she doesn’t love her and she is trash. I told her how lucky she was because she was getting pratice at teh only thing she would ever be good at in her life… getting plowed like the dirty little slut she is.

-JonB

Destini (user link) says:

Stupid Bitch

Excuse my language, but I mean really, this doesn’t have anything to do with Myspace. Her dumb ass added the person, so her dumb ass had to suffer the consequences. As for suing myspace? That’s dumb and selfish. I’m sure those people just don’t sit around and say….”hmmm….hey! I’m bored. Let’s get a child molester to harass her.” Yeah, its as stupid as it sounds. So really, calm your ass down and turn off the monitor.

MiiRaNdAA says:

This Is Extremely Dumb

Ok this is reallly the dumbest thing i’ve ever heard!! i mean my parents wont allow me to have a myspace and i dont regret it at all because they know whats best for me and that site is deff. not good for anybody under the legal age because then stuff like this happens and the parents like to blame it on something besides them. They dont ever want to take the blame for the children’s actions anymore they just say its always somebody else’s fault and go on like its nothing

this girl should have known when she accepted the boy as a friend that something was probably going to happen with this because he’s 19 and he knew he could take advantage of her because she’s only 14. Why would anybody want to put themselves in a situation like this??? It was the girls own stupidity for doing it. The mom’s fault for not monitoring who she was talking to (myspace cant babysit everybody on there that just too many) The boy’s fault for trying to do something he knew was illegal! Lets just say this case is a big waste of court time! Move on to something that will actually be useful of our time and money!!!

MiiRaNdAA says:

This Is Extremely Dumb

Ok this is reallly the dumbest thing i’ve ever heard!! i mean my parents wont allow me to have a myspace and i dont regret it at all because they know whats best for me and that site is deff. not good for anybody under the legal age because then stuff like this happens and the parents like to blame it on something besides them. They dont ever want to take the blame for the children’s actions anymore they just say its always somebody else’s fault and go on like its nothing

this girl should have known when she accepted the boy as a friend that something was probably going to happen with this because he’s 19 and he knew he could take advantage of her because she’s only 14. Why would anybody want to put themselves in a situation like this??? It was the girls own stupidity for doing it. The mom’s fault for not monitoring who she was talking to (myspace cant babysit everybody on there that just too many) The boy’s fault for trying to do something he knew was illegal! Lets just say this case is a big waste of court time! Move on to something that will actually be useful of our time and money!!!

Anton Webern says:

Be a good parent

One user above commented that myspace is a “miltimillion [sic] dollar business making money out of targeted demographic groups which includes kids.” Perhaps this is true, I don’t know.

What I do know is this: what your children do online is their own responsibility. There is all sorts of easily accessible stuff on the internet that children have no business seeing. But, if your children are not old/mature enough to make smart decisions online, then the solution is SIMPLE:

DON’T GIVE YOUR CHILDREN UNSUPERVISED INTERNET ACCESS.

If you’re concerned about what your children are doing online, then, as a parent, it is YOUR responsibility to make sure that they can’t do it.

The computer (like the TV set) is not a babysitter. Tell your kids to read a book or go ride a bike. Don’t simply shove the responsibility off to someone else.

Anton Webern says:

Be a good parent

One user above commented that myspace is a “miltimillion [sic] dollar business making money out of targeted demographic groups which includes kids.” Perhaps this is true, I don’t know.

What I do know is this: what your children do online is their own responsibility. There is all sorts of easily accessible stuff on the internet that children have no business seeing. But, if your children are not old/mature enough to make smart decisions online, then the solution is SIMPLE:

DON’T GIVE YOUR CHILDREN UNSUPERVISED INTERNET ACCESS.

If you’re concerned about what your children are doing online, then, as a parent, it is YOUR responsibility to make sure that they can’t do it.

The computer (like the TV set) is not a babysitter. Tell your kids to read a book or go ride a bike. Don’t simply shove the responsibility off to someone else.

les says:

Suing Myspace

There are a lot of points to be made here:
1-Why are teenagers so unsupervised as to be allowed to interact online in such a fashion? There is a reason for the fact that in court minors cannot make contracts-they are too immature and cannot be relied upon to exercise good judgement. Why wouldn’t that apply online? This girl evidently did not exercise good judgement.

2-Neither did her guardians. That will be the day that my child goes online and I don’t know what she is up to.

3-By no means is this least: the 19 year old who perpetrated the assault is extremely guilty. He took advantage of the naivete of another in a particularly heinous fashion (Maybe I ought to add; allegedly-just in case.)

4-I am beginning to believe that forums like Myspace need to rethink the wisdom of allowing teenagers to participate.They are not demonstrating the required maturity. I know-I have a page on Myspace.I have seen the kind of nonsense that goes on there. It is not Myspace’s fault per se-they do state their rules of conduct very clearly. But while they do not advocate such aberrant behavior, they do unwittingly provide the vehicle. That has to stop.

As a mom I have to say that sometimes we adults must do what is best for the children. It does not take a village to raise a child, but it certainly takes responsible adults.

amanda says:

my iq dropped just hearing about this

omg people are so fucking stupid. my iq just dropped about 20 points because of hearing about this story. i went to myspace and read the terms and conditions and this is what it says, “Member Disputes. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other MySpace.com Members. MySpace.com reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and other Members.” This situation falls under this disclaimer and i think another one too. This girl and her mother do not have a leg to stand on in court and the case should be thrown out because they are both greedy cunts.

Cindy says:

myspace lunacy

First off I feel for the girl in a way. Sorry but this lady has an issue with money obviously. If she reads this, and I hope she does, lady, he, (the 19 yr old) wouldn’t have raped your daughter if it was just a internet thing. I’m sorry but main question here: How did he find her?, Did she give out info to him? Obviously info had to be transfered. Even if she told him the school, or the town, ppl can find you. You don’t know how many times I have been in the POGO.com chat rooms an sat back and listened to older males and young girls chat. Giving out info all the time. I have a 12 yr old living with me and she places herself on myspace as a 14 yr old. I told her to stop. She has 22 yr old males after her, but I watch where she goes and I tell her the bad things that can happen. Her brother is livid over all this. He wants her to delete all the guys that are not in her age range. At 12 yrs old, she shouldn’t even be dating. And I won’t let her. I think it would be a good idea if Tom and the runners of myspace start charging for the use, but then again you’ll have mommies and daddies letting their young children using their credit cards anyway. What’s the use?

adrienne (user link) says:

myspace case

myspace is not the reason she was sexually assulted. if she was so stupid in giving him her phone number she would living her life out fine today. thats the problem with these girls these days. they go on myspace, add anyone to be their friends, talk to them, and then they either give them their phone number or they go and meet them and they end up dead or raped. is it myspace’s fault that most girls have no common sense? see me, i only have friends and layout sites on my friends list. i dont have any personel informaation, no one knows where in brooklyn and new jersey i live they dont know anything about me just from looking at my page. it isnt myspace’s fault she stupid

BAller23 (user link) says:

OHHH my

this is just wack, and yes there is a website agreement that does infact state that myspace is and will not be held reponsible. Therefor wtf are they suing for?
The mother is mostly at fault since she was not watchiing the irresponisibly lil brat in the firts PLACE. This kind of shit makes me mad, when chidren of all ages ‘think’ they know what they are doing.

just_me says:

This has to end

The coffee from McDonald’s did NOT melt the styrofoam cup it was contained in, but she did receive a very bad burn. Although I and most other people know that even coffee that we make at home is hot, apparently the coffee was served at 187 degrees F. I say even when we make it at home, we often make it the way we like it and let it set for a while to cool. Coffee should not be kept at the temperature it was in the McDonald’s case if it is to be sold through the drive-thru.

STEPH says:

MYSPACE

OK THIS IS STUPID ITS NOT MYSPACE’SM FAULT IM 14 AND I KNOW BETTER THEN TO TALK TO OLDER PPL AND ESPEACIAL PPL THAT I DONT KNOW SUEIN MYSPACE IS FUCKEN STUPID AND PATHETIC!!!!! ITS THE GURLS FAULT OF TALKIN TO HIM AND YOU NEVER KNOW MAYBE SHE WOULD GET ALL FLERTY WITH AND AND SHE COULD OF CANGED THE MSGS CUZ ITS POSSIBLE AND ITS PRETTY LAME SUEIN FOR THAT MUCH AND THIS IS THAT NOTHIN HAPPEND TO THE GURL AND IF IT DID IT MIGHT OF BEEN A DIFFENRT STORY BUT SINCE IT DIDNT ITS RETARTED! WELL I JUS WANTED TO SPEAK MY MIND :]

Sam says:

myspace being sued by dumbass

WTF? Is this an actual case? Since when did myspace say “we are responsible for raising your kids, therefore it’s our fault when your cockteasing little 14 y/o brat decides to meet up with a total stranger that she knows is that much older than her and duh… gets assulted.” I mean c’mon, when is this girl’s mother gonna stop being a gold-digging peice of shit and start worring about taking responsibility and being a fucking mother? It’s obvious the 19 y/o dude is getting what he deserves, but the fact still remains that he never would’ve got the chance to assult this girl if she wasn’t flirting around on myspace like a whore which could’ve and should’ve been prevented by the parents cuz myspace is just that… internet space, not internet police-end of fucking story! By the way, if these greedy-ass bitches get 30 mil. I’m gonna sue my dealer every time he has nothing but rag to sell cuz that’s how much sense this makes.

britt says:

this girl

its not myspace fault for her fucking actions she should be more aware of wat shes getting her self into she shouldnt be talking to someone that old anyways and she should have never met him and in the first place if you dont know someone then y the hell would u meet up with them or guve u there personal information

CJ says:

My Space

The responsibility for a 14 years safety, first lies with the parents. They took that responsibility on when they had the child. With all the information that we now have on children that get themselves in these pridicaments, why in the world do parents continue to let their children have unsupervised access of the internet? The way I see it is yes, the 19 year old did wrong…but should his life be ruined due to the fact that parents weren’t doing their job and a 14 year claims that she does not know the difference between right and wrong?? My Space is not responsible. That is like blaming the phone company if all this took place over the phone. However,I am with the person that states all on-line chat rooms should enforce a minimum age of 18. If they did, a 14 year old girl and 19 year old boy would still have their lives. Since it isn’t like this in the real world, I believe that the parents, the 14 year and the 19 year old should all be held responsible for the outcome of what happened. I wonder how many of these cases would happen if that were true? PARENTS NEED TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE ACTIONS OF THEIR MINOR CHILDREN. If they were, maybe we all could sleep better at night.

JOHN CAMERON says:

SEX ACTS ON TV AND THE VIEWER

your allways confusing sex and the viewer its not the point of jealousy its the point of agravating the view and making the viewer agry1 second you see someone say a women next shes being attacted and changing the channels is no help you vshould by now understand what the veiwer preferrs to se innocent sex is that what you wanbt your children to see is angry sex acts wellany age it doesnt matterwhy not you need to slow down your movies and conentrate on the veiwer need not what your spioled actor get.makes videogames so dame angry that you cant punish ,actors innocent they maYBEIVE KNOQWN PEOPLE WHO LITTERLY SMASH THE TV TRYING TO HIT AGRAVATING SCEENES.IF YOU DONT CHANGE IM TO UOPSET TO SAY

shockcorridor says:

Adam Loewy - Scumbag Parasite Lawyer

You have to watch this stupid little skank’s pig of a laywer Adam Loewy being interviewed. This glorified ambulance chaser just reeks of phoney self-righteousness like he’s doing some kind of tremendous deed for humanity. He can barely contain the drool in his mouth as he imagines his payday. I hope the judge tells this smug little prick to shove his lawsuit up his self-righteous ass, tells him he’s a disgrace to the legal profession, and then sanctions the parents for pimping their idiot daughter in a courtroom.

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