Family wants MySpace case revived
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - March 31, 2008 A federal judge dismissed the $30 million suit in February 2007,
rejecting the family's claim that MySpace has a legal duty to
protect its young users from sexual predators.
U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks in Austin, Texas, also ruled that
interactive computer services like MySpace are immune from such
lawsuits under the Communications Decency Act of 1996.
On Monday, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in New Orleans heard arguments on the family's bid to
overturn Sparks' rulings. The court didn't indicate when it might
rule.
The girl, identified as Julie Doe in court papers, was 13 when
she created a MySpace profile in 2005. MySpace requires users to be
at least 14, but the girl misrepresented herself as 18 years old.
She was 14 when the 19-year-old male contacted her through
MySpace and corresponded for several weeks before he allegedly
sexually assaulted her during a meeting in Travis County, Texas, in
May 2006.
A lawyer for MySpace and parent company News Corp., Harry
Reasoner, told the 5th Circuit panel Monday that Congress enacted
the 1996 law to promote the growth of the Internet and protect
online companies from tort litigation.
Gregory Coleman, a lawyer for the girl's family, said the law
only gives MySpace a "limited shield" from liability. "It has a
responsibility to (protect) children," he said.
MySpace denies any wrongdoing, and says it warns members that
its safety protections are not foolproof.