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BOSTON - Eight US attorneys general today demanded that MySpace hand over to authorities the names and addresses of thousands of convicted sex offenders they say are using the social networking website to contact children.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal along with his counterparts in seven other states made the demand in a letter to the unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
He said that he learned of the large number of sex offenders on the site as a result of a company investigation, but did not make clear his source.
"Mixing sex offenders with children on MySpace is a recipe for tragedy," Blumenthal said in a statement. "MySpace is more than a place for friends to meet. It's a playground for predators."
The attorneys general of Georgia, Idaho, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Mississippi and New Hampshire also signed a letter to the company asking it to turn over information.
The website has come under criticism for not doing enough to protect young people using the site from adult sexual predators who pose as teens.
- REUTERS
