Harassment via MySpace: What You Can Do to Stop It

MySpace is a virtual social club—a place where friends and family members chat, meet, and share. It’s also a virtual trade show—a place where business people can network, job search, and give advice. New members are joining the third hottest website in the United States at a rate of 230,000 per day, and the 106 millionth MySpace.com account was opened on September 8, 2006. Once your personal profile is complete, you have access to introducing yourself to hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of people.

With all of these connections being formed between strangers in an online setting, the setting for harassment to occur is perfect. In fact, one of the major issues facing MySpace is that related to privacy. It seems that the distance provided when using the web to meet people encourages the sharing of more personal information than would normally be shared. As a place designed for sharing personal information and introducing strangers to one another, it’s no surprise that the website has also become a place where sexual and violent predators search out potential victims. The website has been involved in controversies relating to minor children membership (MySpace members must be 14 years of age), indecency, and privacy.. Further, a total seven men, with more expected, have been arrested in conjunction with a rape and robbery that happened when a woman set up a physical meeting with strangers she met via MySpace. While the company’s privacy policy and terms of agreement attempts to manage these issues, its difficulty in enforcing the rules is both understandable and unfortunate.

In relation to Internet safety, MySpace has trouble with the two issues that are stumbling blocks for all providers of free communication services. First, the ratio of registered members to moderators who can enforce the website’s privacy policy and terms of service is extremely lopsided. MySpace, in fact, has about one dozen moderators in charge of monitoring all of the website’s activity. MySpace relies on its users to self-police, notifying the company when policies have been violated. Second, when a violation is detected, there is very little ability to effectively bar a person from using the free website. It is extremely easy for someone barred from the site to open another fictitious account.

So, what can you do to stop harassment via MySpace? First and foremost, you must recognize that it is your own responsibility to protect yourself. You should educate yourself about the proper policies for reporting harassment at MySpace and for effectively dealing with it and unwanted contact prior to joining the network. Remember that you have ultimate control over what information is displayed in your personal profile. Do not be too eager to share too much information. The more information you provide, the more information can be used against you. Be extremely careful when providing people with information about how to personally contact you, such as your address and phone number.

If you do experience unwanted contact or harassment, MySpace recommends you follow a few steps. First, if you feel threatened, contact law enforcement immediately. If you are being irritated or annoyed by unwanted contact, ignore the contact—99.9% of the time, the person will leave you alone. Next, delete the person from your Friend List so that can no longer add Comments to your profile, delete any Comments they leave on your profile, and delete any messages they send to your email account without opening them. You also have the option of going to their profile and clicking on “Block User.” This will prevent them from contacting you via MySpace. You can also contact MySpace customer service for assistance at any time.

Protecting yourself from harassment via MySpace begins and ends with you. Be careful with the information you provide and to whom you provide it, and know how to deal with unwanted contact should it occur.