Judge says MySpace isn't liable for alleged sexual assault on girl
Whose fault is it that 13-year-old "Julie Doe" lied about her age, met a guy on MySpace.com and was allegedly sexually assaulted by him in a Texas parking lot?
Not MySpace's, a federal judge said in a decision released Wednesday.
The ruling appears to be the first time a federal court has extended to social-networking sites the same broad free-speech protections granted to Internet service providers. It could prove pivotal, coming at a time when educators, lawmakers and state attorneys general are leaning on News Corp.-owned MySpace to protect young users from online predators.
"A lot of people are angry about what kids are doing and what's happening on the Internet," said Parry Aftab, a leading Internet child safety expert. "That's fine. But it is not MySpace's role to raise your child."
Authorities in Travis County, Texas, charged a 19-year-old man with sexual assault last summer in connection with the Julie Doe case. The girl's parents sued News Corp. for $30 million, saying Beverly Hills-based MySpace didn't do enough to protect its members. At least four similar cases are pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
"If anyone had a duty to protect Julie Doe, it was her parents, not MySpace," Judge Sam Sparks wrote in a ruling dismissing the case.
Sparks, of U.S. District Court in Austin, Texas, said MySpace couldn't be held liable for the actions of its users any more than Yahoo Inc. was responsible for what people write on its message boards.
The judge also said MySpace should not be punished for the failure of its voluntary safety measures. If it were, he said, Internet firms would stop taking such steps to protect its users.
Since News Corp. acquired MySpace in July 2005, the website has worked to counter its public image as a haven for unsavory characters. It hired a former federal prosecutor as chief safety officer, ran public service announcements on its website and on TV warning children to be cautious of strangers online and began working on software that allows parental control.
"MySpace has always been concerned about what happened to Julie Doe, because we take the safety and security of our community very seriously," the site said in a statement Wednesday. "However, a lawsuit against MySpace was not the appropriate way to redress any harm to her."
