Politics & teen blogging

The politicization of teen social-networking has begun. "Jeanine F. Pirro, the Republican candidate for attorney general [of New York], has begun an attack on MySpace.com," the New York Times reported, "saying that it represents a threat to child safety." According to the Times, "Ms. Pirro said that her motivation for taking on the issue was a result of the work she did in her 12 years as district attorney as a zealous pursuer of sex offenders." Meanwhile, Reuters reports that US attorney Kevin O'Connor announced charges against two men for using MySpace to meet with teenage girls. Mr. O'Connor said "MySpace was not at fault and that full blame lies with the two defendants." But Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal "has called on MySpace to tighten access to the site and improve its age verification system," Reuters added. "MySpace and Blumenthal's office are in negotiations over the attorney general's request." Here's a Business Week interview with Blumenthal about MySpace that ran today.