My Space lawsuit dismissed

THIS MIGHT OPEN DISCUSSION ABOUT USE OF MY SPACE…I’M SURE YOU’VE DONE IT, BUT HERE’S ANOTHER ANGLE..

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ A judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the social networking site MySpace-dot-com involving sexual assault.
The family of a 13-year-old Austin girl who says she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old man whom she met online. The girl alleges Pete Solis of Buda lied in his MySpace profile about being a senior on the football team to gain her trust and phone number. Solis was arrested in Mayon a charge of sexual assault of a child.
In a ruling issued yesterday, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks said MySpace is protected under the Communications Decency Act. It cannot be expected to verify the age of every user because that ``would of course stop MySpace's business in its tracks.''
The decency act cited by Sparks generally grants immunity to interactive computer services such as MySpace so that they are not liable for content posted by users.
An attorney for the girl and her family said they will file an appeal. Attorney Jason Itkin says the decision allows sites like MySpace to avoid the responsibility to make the Internet safe for children.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)