MySpace ejects 90,000 convicted sex offenders

SAN FRANCISCO: Social networking website MySpace.com has said that it had ejected more than 90,000 registered sex offenders following an agreement last year with state attorneys general to improve child safety.

The figure, which MySpace provided to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, was more than double the number that MySpace had predicted that it would find when it launched the crackdown on online threats to minors.

"This shocking revelation - resulting from our subpoena - provides compelling proof that social-networking sites remain rife with sexual predators," Blumenthal said in a statement.

The offenders were tracked using email addresses and screen names that registered sex offenders are required to file with authorities.

Blumenthal warned that thousands more convicted of sex offences were probably still lurking on social networking sites
using unregistered emails and screen names.