Court dismisses suit against MySpace

A US district court in Texas this week dismissed a negligence lawsuit filed last June by the family of a girl who was sexually assaulted by someone she met on MySpace, Reuters reports. "In dismissing the suit, Judge [Sam] Sparks said that as an 'interactive service,' MySpace was protected from materials posted on its site by the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996." The law "generally grants immunity to interactive computer services such as MySpace so that they are not liable for content posted by users," the Associated Press reports in its coverage of this development. "If anyone had a duty protect Julie Doe, it was her parents, not MySpace," the court ruled," ASPnews reported. Judge Sparks also "noted that the girl lied about her age, posing as an 18-year-old when she was only 13," Reuters added. The minimum age at MySpace is 14. The family said it would appeal the dismissal. (Here's my item on this case last June.)