NC System Blocks MySpace

Library says site used to view and post pornography, promote gangs

By Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 4/1/2007

While legislators in some states have targeted access by children to social networking sites like MySpace, and some libraries have prohibited access in the children's room, the Wake County Public Library System, NC, is banning access by all library patrons to MySpace, until a review in three to six months.

“Although MySpace has many legitimate uses,” the county said in a statement, “it also serves as an attractive nuisance for those who gather in the libraries for purposes other than using the resources and collections for recreation, lifelong learning, or cultural purposes.”

In legal terms, “attractive nuisance” means a “piece of property that attracts children but also endangers their safety,” according to nolo.com, which cites as examples unfenced swimming pools and open pits. The county said MySpace had been used “to recruit gang members, to sell or purchase drugs, or to view or post pornography.” A local TV station reported that MySpace had been employed to circumvent the library's Internet filters and that two teens arrested for murder had used library computers to access their MySpace.com accounts, where they were shown flashing gang symbols.