Facebook chief privacy officer Chris Kelly has put out a statement to the Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act (KIDS), which President George W. Bush signed on Monday along with the Protect Our Children Act.
In short: Facebook supports the act and says it will cooperate with it.
"We see KIDS as an important tool to prevent inappropriate outreach from ever occurring," Kelly wrote in a post on the company blog about the law, which mandates that registered sex offenders have all identifying Internet names, including e-mail addresses, on file with the National Sex Offender Registry. "The penalties and consequences for registrants violating KIDS' provisions are so severe, we hope they'll deter potential predators from coming online altogether. This is a vital step in protecting children online, and it is by no means the end of our efforts."
Kelly continued: "At Facebook, we've long barred registered sex offenders from our service. Currently, we work cooperatively with individual states' attorneys general to check users against state-registered sex offender lists." He's referring to the negotiations that the social network underwent with state lawmakers who claimed that Facebook misrepresents how safe it is for minors.
But, Kelly said, both Facebook and legal authorities "consistently find that these (state) registries lack the essential e-mail and IM data for comprehensive and rapid screening. The process is also less efficient and less effective than anyone, especially concerned parents, would like, which is why we're such ardent supporters of the KIDS Act Registry."
Social network MySpace also supports the KIDS act.
Big-name professional athletes are known for throwing money around almost as much as they throw balls, but it's not every day you hear about them investing in a social-networking site. Youth sports network Weplay, however, is an exception: Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning, and LeBron James have joined its $8.6 million Series B funding round, announced Tuesday.
The round was led by Deep Fork Capital, which has invested recently in mobile networking start-up Moblyng and visual search site SearchMe. In addition to the well-moneyed jocks, existing investor FirstMark Capital contributed.
Weplay's Series A round, announced earlier this year, was led by FirstMark and had participation from other current and former pro athletes like basketball player Tony Parker, soccer player Brandi Chastain, and swimmer Summer Sanders as well as Silicon Valley regular Ron Conway. The Creative Artists Agency and Major League Baseball Advanced Media have also invested.
The site itself is intended as a hub for youth athletes, their parents and coaches, and other enthusiasts where they can safely network, share photos, and keep track of their favorite teams as well as share their own on-the-field antics.
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