Topic: Technology
We have just recently found a story that has pulled us out of hibernation (beer drinking - ed.) to post about the stupidity. And it occurs in Texas, so it's of double importance.An Austin teenager and her mother are suing Myspace.com, the insanely popular networking Web site, for, wait for it... $30 million, because she began talking to and then met a 19-year-old who sexually assaulted her. The suit states that Myspace does not give enough security for underage users. Our opinion on why this is absolutely the most retarded lawsuit in YEARS is following.
This is tragic. She's only 14 and was sexually assaulted. BUT... she agreed to meet with the man, and not only that, but agreed to get in his car when he, cough, PICKED HER UP FROM SCHOOL and then, double cough, TOOK HER OUT TO EAT, before taking her to his apartment complex and engaging in some sexual activity. While this pedo deserves to burn in a special place in Hell reserved normally for Satan's turds, the girl's mother should sue herself for not instructing her daughter in certain things she should not do, including meeting strangers from the Internet alone without any protection.
Lauren Gelman, associate director of the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School, has perhaps the best comment we could find without going into as many smutty details as we have.
"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," Gelman said. "We need to teach our kids to be wary of strangers."
This is dumb shit that deserves to be thrown out of court if only for the reason that the mother deserves the blame for this, not a Web site. Personally, we think AOL Instant Messenger is more dangerous. And a bigger time waster.
AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Posted by James
at 11:58 PM CDT
