Clean Internet: We block Myspace.com, Here’s why
Online Safety & Privacy March 28th, 2006Our filtered internet service is called “Clean Internet” and it prevents access to MySpace.com. Several months ago we began receiving complaints from parents about a site called MySpace.com. We, at the time, hadn’t heard much about it. We sure have now. It has been all over the news.
MySpace.com was originally created as a creative outlet for rock bands and independant music labels to spread word of their latest work and to build a fan base. It has evolved into a mix of Blogs, Picture sharing, Personal Ads & social networking.
The purpose of this post is not to single out MySpace, but rather to explain why one of the most popular sites on the Internet is blocked by our Clean Internet. As of this post, March 28, 2006, MySpace.com is listed as the 5th most popular website on the internet. To give some perspective, Numbers 1 through 4 are: Yahoo!, Google, MSN.com, eBay. This means that Amazon.com is LESS popular than MySpace. 20 million + people are visiting MySpace.com. Those numbers are staggering.
Here are the simple reasons we block MySpace.com:
- It contains suggestive and pornographic images
- It allows for the easy posting of way too much personal information
- It is a context for dating and personal ads
- It can be and has been used to exploit children and teenagers.
We welcome your comments.
MySpace.com in the news:
KSL.com reports on MySpace
MSNBC reports on MySpace
A search for MySpace on Google News
April 1st, 2006 at 4:20 pm
I am an adult, and had a my space. Needless to say it’s not just for child predators. I was fired over my space. I worked at a school, and talked to some of the kids there on my space. I talked to alot of adults from around the country as well. There were alot , and i repeat, alot of explicit comments and questions that were sent to me from a few of the male students. One in particular, had lied about who they were and their age,and posted an image of something instead of a picture. I had no idea who they were at first. When I received these comments, I ignored alot of them, and told others straight out that me talking to them like that could get me into trouble until they were 18 years old. As for the unknown boys, I made comments back, some to effect of “yea ok” and “you wish you had me”. I thought by the way the conversations had started that they were adults. Well needless to say, I was reported to the school for talking explicitly to underage boys. The school then proceeded to phone the sheriffs dept. and then sent a letter to the district informing them of the situation. I was never asked my side…just fired. I have since then cancelled mine and my daughters my space. I hope that alot of the adults out there that do have one are reading this. Be careful who you talk to and what you say. They are sometimes not who you think they are. It’s a shame that people see the adult predators but seem to be blind as to the kids who corner and lie about the adults and the adults suffer. I’m not a predator and wouldn’t even consider talking to underage kids about explicit things. I’m embarrassed to even admit to having such a childlike website that I trusted to just meet new friends on.
April 14th, 2006 at 1:57 pm
thats so stupid kids in my school use that all the time. We use to talk to our friends i or out of school and they blocked it because of you people and now I cant even get it at home. As long as teens know how to use it I dont think it sould be blocked! Not every kid is stupid enough to go looking for porn on it and they all ready have 300,000 thousand profiles cleared off and predeters theses days are more cops looking for predeters and kid shouldent even have there profile open they should set it to privet and leave it to that. I havent found any thing bad on that site since I got on it.
April 27th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
You guys are completely idiotic. Those reasons for blocking are uber-conservative and based off of the same sort of fearmongering ignorance that started up regarding internet chats when they first became popular. If there are people exploiting children out there, you should go after that, not the sites they use for such means. The bastards that do that are manipulative and clever and generally the best way to avoid them is to inform yourself on their techniques and then use discretion. You can teach your kids to do this. All you have to do is talk to them.
For you to police internet access in any way is ridiculous, especially based on such faulty premises. It sounds like you might be in competition but really, if the issue is that myspace is too capitalist and you are trying to boycott them, say so. To refer to the old “protect the children” philosophy so many people love to use to support any prohibition or control of others’ rights and liberties is a sign that you have no faith in the youth and probably live in eternal fear of an evil “other” who is lurking around every corner. Do you guys live in the suburbs or something?
April 27th, 2006 at 3:43 pm
To refute your points:
1. We are an Internet Service Provider (ISP), based in St. George, Utah. We do not compete in any way with MySpace, nor are we boycotting them.
2. We provide a blocking service to our customers, that they have to sign up for. As part of that service, we block various sites. Most sites are Pornographic or distasteful sites, and some of them are personals sites, because kids’ parents don’t want their kids to post personal info on the internet. MySpace is categorized under the “Personals” category in our filter.
3. If a parent is fine with MySpace, and MySpace is being blocked by our filter, they can call and request that MySpace be unblocked on their account.
4. Our filter is not on by default. In fact, I have InfoWest service at my home, and I access sites that are filtered by our Clean Internet filter all the time, such as MySpace and Penny Arcade. I don’t have the filter. because I don’t have kids.
April 28th, 2006 at 1:08 pm
Bridgette - Stop spending so much time on MySpace and focus on your education. Take a look at what you have posted, your grammar and spelling needs some work. As for “Some guy” you must not have kids.
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:19 am
Well I think myspace is awesome and it better than any other website. As soon kids like what they want they always take it away from us and that not fair.
May 3rd, 2006 at 8:41 am
I have blocked access to myspace.com from our home computer using stopspace. Aside from the predators, I was shocked to see the explicit imagery and and language that any child could happen upon just going from one myspace account to another!
May 3rd, 2006 at 10:39 am
I think the whole thing is just another way for adults to control their kids. What people dont realize is… WERE NOT AS STUPID AS YOU THINK WE ARE!! Im 18 years old, and i graduate in May 2006. And Im not allowed access to this site because it shows the same things Ive seen on T.V. everyday for the last 8 or 9 years?! That makes no sense! Why dont you try blocking some of the shows on cable T.V.? You cant because its up to the parents. As it should be. Then why do school officials care what we do outside of class? why do they themselves get on myspace just to dig up dirt on the kids and obviously teachers too! People cant stop kids from doing it anyway. If they really want to get on myspace, they can! There are so many ways around firewalls and stuff, blocking or “cleaning” as you like to call it, is simply pointless! Most teens dont use myspace to “hook up” or anything like that. I used it to find old friends that I had lost touch with. I just happened to make some new ones a long the way. Whats so wrong with that? Nothing is wrong with that… But I will tell you what I do think is wrong, stuck up, prude, rich, computer snobs like you trying to take this away from us. If anyone thinks Im wrong, just ask yourself how hard it would be to delete/ignore sexual comments or advances? You never have to meet this person and you all have your undies in a bunch because he sent you a message saying he wanted you. IGNORE IT! Youd better get over yourselves quick, or theres likely to be a riot outside your office.
May 6th, 2006 at 2:44 pm
I, too, was shocked to discover what is really on Myspace. If you’re over 18 iit’s up to you, but the rest of us have ot worry about our kids. Three cheers for infowest and their decision to block access at parent’s request!!
May 7th, 2006 at 8:33 pm
I understand all about kids wanting to have fun but myspace is a breeding ground for trouble for young kids. If you are 18 and you have a job, you can probably have your own computer and your own internet service; however, I don’t appreciate the pics of naked girls that are sent to my young son, nor do I like the language that is so very commong between teens these days and most importantly, myspace is like an addiction to my kids. Seems they can’t do anything else anymore.
May 8th, 2006 at 11:52 am
all of these adults commenting on this seem to be saying how they cant BELIEVE the explict language and images seen on myspace. do u REALLY think by kicking them off myspace u are goin to get us to stop swearing? walk through ANY high school or middle school, and very often, even elementary school and u will hear tons of cussing. so using that as an excuse to get rid of myspace is stupid. then saying its easy for predators to stalk people… well allowing teenagers to look like they do and DRESS like they do is attracting predators too. basically, i feel like anything that teens like, adults just want to ruin it claiming “its only because we care!” bullshit.
May 9th, 2006 at 12:59 pm
I curse, kids curse, we all curse. Even the good christians in the community here curse. Cursing is not the issue nor the reason we block it. Excessive cursing however, is one of the reasons.
You are at school to learn, not to dick around on blogs talking about banging your girl, getting high, this weekends party, how your boy/girlfriend left you, why you hate being at school, or any one of the 2.5 million other things you talk about. You are at school to learn, end of discussion.
Aubrey, you say you kids are not stupid, yet thousands of you are lured in by these online predators on a daily basis, if this is not a case of ignorance, than it would be fair to say that if you get lured in you deserve what you get?
When these pervs start luring you in with the simple stuff. Guess who this is, come on, you know who it is….. And you bite at it and throw out a half dozen of your friends names. Is this John, Paul, Laurie, Kim… Now they have a name, conversation ends and they come back under a differant name.. You know who this is…., it’s me, Kim. I keep trying to call you, but I think I have the wrong number in my address book. Oh you say, here it is….. Now I am off to do a reverse lookup of your number to find out who you are, where you live and the game begins, but feel good, cause your not stupid!
May 12th, 2006 at 10:03 am
Okay…first of all…i found this website by looking for a proxy for myspace DURING school. I am in a study hall, and i have just read every single post here on this page. I think it’s funny how the government has time to worry about ‘myspace’ but is too busy to help the homeless, or to stop the war. As for colleges…who do they think they are? We go to college to become adults, not to still be treated as babies. Notice how NO kids have said “oh i think it’s a GREAT idea to block myspace!” And yet under five adults have said it was a great idea. Children or teenagers who have been sexually assualted or some other stuff on myspace does not make it myspace’s fault. Teens like these need to grow up, and their parents need to learn that their kids are not angels. Mypspace shouldn’t take the blame, kids should. I’m sick of the trashtalking. The adults here who have kids, maybe it’s time you grow up.
May 16th, 2006 at 12:07 pm
I think its great that they blocked myspace its horrible , my gf gets on that thing everyday and it takes time away from the people that are important around you, something none of you know about , it becomes a problem when the person your with turns there back on you to check there myspace messages i believe BLOCK , no BAN myspace it is ruining people ALL OVER THE NATION!!!
May 17th, 2006 at 9:58 am
this is so stupid blocking Myspace in case u ppl didnt know ur allowed to change the setting to where only ur “friends” can view the profile and for those teens who accepted the offer as add them on the profile of a 30 yr old male thats their problem i’m willing to bet more ppl are smarter than that. this is so stupid and for u parents who are all freaking out about Myspace its not that big of a deal juse teach them right from wrong.
May 18th, 2006 at 2:53 pm
THE SCHOOLS NEED TO STOP BLOCKING MYSPACE…IT HAS NOTHING THAT IS ” ADULT ” CONTENT ON IT…UNLESS YOU GO LOOKING FOR IT…ALL THE ” ADULT ” THINGS THAT IT HAS IS JUST THE LAYOUTS PEOPLE PUT ON THEIR MYSPACE PROFILE….THEY NEED TO STOP….CUZ THERES REALLY NO USE TO IT…THE TEENS AT JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS AND HIGH SCHOOLS ALWAYS FIND A WAY TO GET IN!!!!!
May 19th, 2006 at 5:53 am
yes i have to agree some what yes there are petafiles and yes kids could get hurt but. The answer is simple….. there are options on myspace to have only people on your buddy list be able to veiw your page. So if your kids have people they dont kno on their buddy list thats their fault not the programs. Tom the creator was making a website were teens can be teens and have fun send letters to their friends and people can comment their pictures and the page is something we get to create and its fun!!! And as a student i will say we will find a way to get in and you wont….wont stop us ….we will find a way!!!
June 25th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
Hotels using overly aggressive filtering…
We’re staying this weekend at the Best Western Coral Hills hotel in St. George, Utah, while visiting some of Michele’s family who have retired down here. Like most moderately priced hotels I’ve been in lately, they provide free wireless Internet acc…
June 27th, 2006 at 6:21 am
[...] True some of these sites do have information that is not appropriate for kids and many parents do appreciate it being blocked. On the other hand, I think we need to further the education of the people that are using these systems. I have read posts by kids regarding infoweb and the policies they have. Unfortunately the arguements that were posted by many of the kids were very poor and resorted to name calling, poor grammar, and incoherent thoughts. However, some interesting information could be pulled from their postings. Here are some points that I think are important… 1)If it is blocked the kids will find another way around it. 2) “The b@$%@&*% that do that (exploit children) are manipulative and clever and generally the best way to avoid them is to inform yourself on their techniques and then use discretion. You can teach your kids to do this. All you have to do is talk to them.” 3) Much of the content on MySpace is similar to what is seen on television. (Ok but this opens a whole new realm…just think of the context of the post) [...]