Parental Responsibility
Excerpt from the San Francisco Chronicle article, "MySpace suit dismissed by judge in Texas
Family said site didn't protect underage users" by Ellen Lee
Thursday, February 15, 2007
A Texas judge has dismissed a lawsuit against MySpace that had blamed the popular Web site for not establishing enough safeguards to protect underage users.
The family of an underage girl -- referred to as "Julie Doe" in the lawsuit -- had sued MySpace last year after she lied about her age and was sexually assaulted by a man she met on MySpace.
But U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks ruled Wednesday that MySpace, like other online forums, should not be held responsible for what happened. "If anyone had a duty to protect Julie Doe, it was her parents, not MySpace," he wrote.
Thank goodness someone in the court system has a brain in his skull. I agree that the parents are the ones shirking their responsibility to monitor their daughter. She is 13 years old and she lied about her age, saying she was eighteen. This type of behavior is becoming more common in a society where people won't admit responsibility for their own screw ups. I'm glad this particular judge isn't encouraging more lawsuits like this one by allowing the case to go forward.
Sorry about the serious tone of this blog entry. I'm usually more upbeat and fun, but I feel strongly about frivolous lawsuits, society's tendency to shift blame, and irresponsible parents. Could ya tell? LOL
Family said site didn't protect underage users" by Ellen Lee
Thursday, February 15, 2007
A Texas judge has dismissed a lawsuit against MySpace that had blamed the popular Web site for not establishing enough safeguards to protect underage users.
The family of an underage girl -- referred to as "Julie Doe" in the lawsuit -- had sued MySpace last year after she lied about her age and was sexually assaulted by a man she met on MySpace.
But U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks ruled Wednesday that MySpace, like other online forums, should not be held responsible for what happened. "If anyone had a duty to protect Julie Doe, it was her parents, not MySpace," he wrote.
Thank goodness someone in the court system has a brain in his skull. I agree that the parents are the ones shirking their responsibility to monitor their daughter. She is 13 years old and she lied about her age, saying she was eighteen. This type of behavior is becoming more common in a society where people won't admit responsibility for their own screw ups. I'm glad this particular judge isn't encouraging more lawsuits like this one by allowing the case to go forward.
Sorry about the serious tone of this blog entry. I'm usually more upbeat and fun, but I feel strongly about frivolous lawsuits, society's tendency to shift blame, and irresponsible parents. Could ya tell? LOL
Labels: Rants
posted by Kate Willoughby at 2/16/2007
4 Comments:
I am TOTALLY in agreement. Frivolous lawsuits and the judges who let them go too far are ruining not just our justice system, but our sense of personal responsibility.
"This type of behavior is becoming more common in a society where people won't admit responsibility for their own screw ups."
Amen, Sister! Personal responsibility needs to become a watchword in this country.
I'm a parent of teens on myspace. I check their sites. I read their emails. And they know it. I will not let something like that be easy to happen to them. But, there is enough news coverage of this sort of thing that you'd have to intentionally drop the ball on this one. My teens, who are actually pretty naive, know about internet safety and the horrible things that can happen to them. They would have to choose it and sneak behind my back, not on our computers to get it done.
Yay, qtpies7! I worry about what they do at friends' houses. I pretty much trust my kids (boys, both of them). They come home and tell me all the bad stuff other kids do, but I still worry.
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