Police must be able to monitor sex offenders on social network sites
Tue, 09 Mar 2010
The Liberal Democrats today called for the Sex Offenders’ Register to be upgraded to take account of the use of the internet in the light of the tragic murder of Ashleigh Hall.
In a letter to the Home Secretary, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary Chris Huhne called for both the failures of conventional monitoring and the inadequacy of internet monitoring to be put right.
Commenting, Chris Huhne said:
“Our procedures are still lagging behind the development of the internet, since we do not even require the registration of IP and email addresses of sex offenders, which has now become typical in the United States. This would allow police to monitor social networking activity.
“It is also disappointing that Facebook, which was used by Peter Chapman to make contact with Ashleigh Hall, is the only big social networking site not to install the button that allows users to get advice on, and to report, suspicious on-line activity from so-called friends.
“If Bebo and MSN can install the button from the Child Exploitation and On-line Protection Centre, then so can Facebook.
“Until Facebook acts on this, its protestations that it cares passionately about the safety of people who use its site will look like empty words. Facebook urgently needs to take this clear, simple and practical step.”
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