MySpace kicks out 90,000 sex offenders

MySpace.com has identified and removed 90,000 convicted sex offenders from its popular online social-networking site, according to one of the dozens of state attorneys general who pressured the site to beef up its safety standards.

Richard Blumenthal, the attorney general of Connecticut who spearheaded the campaign to subpoena MySpace, said he found the number "appalling."

"These convicted, registered sex offenders clearly create profiles seeking to prey on children," he said, adding, "This revelation is totally appalling and unacceptable, and this shocking revelation, resulting from our subpoena, also provides compelling proof that social networking sites remain ripe with sexual predators."

In May 2007, MySpace announced that it would provide the coalition of state attorneys general with information on sex offenders who use the site.

"We have zero tolerance for sexual predators on MySpace," Hemanshu Nigam, chief security officer for the site, said at the time, as he introduced a tool known as Sentinel SAFE to track online sex offenders.

MySpace had initially refused to comply with the subpoena, citing federal privacy laws.