Parents cautioned about social networking sites.
Describing it as “one of the worst social networking sites that we’ve encountered,” New York Attorney General Mario Cuomo tore into “Tagged.com” on Thursday, issuing an order for the site to develop a plan for monitoring and responding to inappropriate conduct. Citing a photo which showed a man performing oral sex on a ten-year-old child, Cuomo said it was characteristic of the abuses his investigator had found on “Tagged.”
Cuomo acknowledged that Tagged posts and promotes its safety and security features, and he said that the site’s published standards comply with all the applicable laws. Cuomo insisted that he and his staff simply want the company to live up to its own standards.
Responding to Cuomo’s demands, Louis Willacy, attorney for Tagged, insisted, “The safety of our members is a top priority,” and he told reporters that he and Tagged officials are working closely with Cuomo’s staff to resolve the problems.
Attorneys repeat other social network cautions.
In the wake of Cuomo’s investigation and complaint, child advocates renewed their cautions to parents and teens. Users of social networks face two significant legal issues, the consequences of which can last a lifetime.
First, anyone under eighteen years old who posts a naked or suggestive picture online is technically guilty of trafficking in child pornography. Brooke Sommerfield, a long-time family court litigator, reminds Facebookers and Tweeters, “Your intentions and your naivte do not matter. What you think looks cute, innocent, and sexy still may qualify as child pornography, making you liable for prosecution and subject to registry as a sex offender. Keep your clothes on, and keep your pictures in a scrapbook.” Sommerfield also reminds networkers and texters that similar guidelines apply to text messages and transmission of cell phone pictures.
Second, the laws governing slander and libel apply on social networking sites just as much as they apply to print publications. Sommerfield explains, “A post on the internet is considered publication, so that if you say something about one of your friends or classmates on Facebook or Twitter and your comment hurts the person or damages his or her reputation, you have slandered. The person has every right to sue you.” In the same way that she counsels innocence and chastity in internet pictures, Sommerfield advises kindness in your posts.
