MySpace, News Corp. Face Lawsuit

NEW YORK, January 18: Four
families have filed suit against News Corporation and MySpace alleging that
their underage daughters were solicited online and sexually abused by adult
users of the popular social networking site.

Arnold & Itkin LLP and
Barry & Loewy LLP, are representing the families from New York, Texas,
Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, who filed separate suits yesterday in Los
Angeles Superior Court. The families are alleging “negligence, recklessness,
fraud and negligent misrepresentation” by News Corp. and MySpace.

The plaintiffs include a
15-year-old Pennsylvania girl who was lured to a meeting by an adult MySpace
user, kidnapped and sexually assaulted last year. The man charged is awaiting
trial. A 15-year-old Texas girl says she was lured to a meeting, drugged and
assaulted in 2006 by an adult MySpace user. The adult MySpace user in that case
is serving a ten-year sentence in Texas. A 14-year-old New York girl met a
MySpace user, was “severely intoxicated with alcohol and illicit drugs forced
upon her, and then sexually assaulted by the adult MySpace user and his adult
friend.” One of the men is serving time already and the other is awaiting
trial. And two South Carolina sisters were sexually assaulted and raped by two
adult MySpace users. Both men were arrested by South Carolina authorities and
are awaiting criminal prosecution.

Attorney Jason A. Itkin,
of Arnold & Itkin LLP, stated, "Like state attorneys general
throughout the nation, we believe that more must be done to ensure that social
networking sites are made safer. In our view, MySpace waited entirely too long
to attempt to institute meaningful security measures that effectively increase
the safety of their underage users."

Attorney Adam J. Loewy, of
Barry & Loewy LLP, added, "Families are the first line of defense for
children, but these cases show the practical realities of social networking
sites. Blaming the families of abuse victims who were solicited online, as some
have done, is a cynical excuse that ignores the fact that social networking
sites can lead to heinous abuse by Internet predators. It is now clear that
MySpace recognizes that serious security problems exist."