MY space sued for 31 mill is LL next?

I Heard on the radio today on my way home from work that My space is being sued by a 14 year old girl and her parents.
She was assaulted by a 19 year old posing as a 14 year old she met on my space.

Could something LIke this happen to LL?

I would think that it is highly likely that this in deed could happen. I don't think something like this would win in court but having a major law suit filed such as this is not out of the question.

Especially with the fact anyone can come in to Second life and never ever have to divulge who they are?

edit

heres a link to a story http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13437619/

Another over-the-top American lawsuit. 31 mill! LOL! double LOL!

IMO this is the parents fault for not learning their kids how to act and protect themselves on the internet. If the US justice system has any sense at all, this lawsuit will be discarded.

myspace should counter-sue for stupidity.

Speaking of lawsuits...... I wonder how that lawyer from Pennsylvania is getting on with his "I didn't steal those islands, honest, it was their fault my hack worked" lawsuit?

Lewis

from the msnbc article

"The suit alleges that MySpace has “absolutely no meaningful protections or security measures to protect underage users.”


sounds very familiar to what LL uses to check people

indeed i completely agree with you on this however LL opens them self up by not even requesting basic identity for any one!!

correction:

"The suit alleges that MySpace has “absolutely no meaningful protections or security measures to protect [stupid and naive] underage users.”

They should sue the sexual assaulter not My Space. My Space didn't say hey d00d go pose as a 14 year old and sexually assault that 14 year old girl over there. Whatever happened to personal responsibility? I'm not advocating sexual assault by any means,but sheesh suing for $31M is assinine and most likely not the 14 year olds idea. No matter what you put out there some predator is going to use it for personal gain or to fulfill their sordid desires.

I sure as hell hope that this does not happen in SL, but you know it will especially now with the no verification for account sign up.

We are probably the most litiginous country in the world. I'm not positive but I think we also have a higher per capita number of attorneys than anyone else.

So this doesn't surprise me. I do, however, think the Lindens are in for a rude shock. Soon.

And then someone should counter sue myspace to get back the 15 minutes of my life I wasted while trying to register to figure out how to create a snapzilla panel for Aces Spades' myspace page

I cant agree more and i think its the parents responsibility not my spaces. but we all know how these lawsuits go even if they don't win the law suit what do you think this is doing to my space now with all the negative publicity.

It is reasonable to expect entities running adult places to institute reasonable means of preventing entry by minors.

coco

Lawyers will always go after Deep Pockets.

If a person is punched by a vagrant sitting outside City Hall and a lawsuit developed, there's a good chance that the lawsuit would be against the City at some point.

It's not right, but it's the way it is.

MySpace needs a LOT more protection features in place.

I agree that the girl's probably not the brightest bulb in the park, but eventually someone had to sue MySpace. More power to them; I think MySpace is dreadfully unsafe and appeals to the exhibitionist side of this culture -- which means that, unfortunately, a bunch of *very* impressionable 14-year-olds are prancing around in their underwear in digital photos on that site.

You can't ALWAYS blame the parents. I'm glad the fucker who did that to her was arrested, and I hope this forces MySpace to rethink the way their site is set up.

True, but how many people will see it as the family being a$$holes and just trying to make free money off their daughters suffering.

indeed and my space is supposed to be for kids and they got hammered Second life is filled with adult content. I would like to believe that every resident of second life is a decent human being. But the reality is that there are scum bags in second life and more to come with out any kind of identity verification.

I know from what I read that LL cares and wants to protect the kids in second life weather they be on the teen grid or main grid illegally. but with out any kind of identity verification they put at risk the kids and open them selves up to lawsuits such as this one.
regardless if the suit is won or not this can't be good for second life.

and yes is reasonable to expect entities running adult places to institute reasonable means of preventing entry by minors.

oh Sure Im sure many will think this. I would tend to lean that way my self but with out knowing more about what happen and the character of the parents and kid I could not make that judgment off hand.

Good to see this thread surviving in General Topics. My attempt to start a thread about the age verification aspects of this got moved to the sandbox for not being relevant to SL. Go figure.

Maybe you should get one of the SLCC sigs in your profile so that while you are complaining you are also advertising for LL?

I'm nodding in agreement on several points while reading this thread.

Yes the kid was probably stupid and naive.

Yes the parents are attempting to profit off their daughter's pain and should have watched her more closely.

Americans are the most lawsuit happy society on the planet with several other countries following a close second.

Most 14 yr olds are stupid and naive.

Too many parents don't pay enough attention to what their children are up to.

My space needed and still needs to work on some safety measures.

LL needs to work on some saftey measures....

.... BECAUSE (see above) most 14 yr olds are stupid and naive and too many parents dont pay enough attention to what their children are up to and we live in a lawsuit happy society.

Lawsuits and the death of businesses are the inevitable result when all of these ingrediants are applied.

I agree, absolutely. The problem is that too many don't get it, won't get it, and LL is doing nothing to protect themselves from those kinds of parents.

I agree.

The courts, however, need to take a stand and send a clear message to parents: Your Child, Your Responsibility.

Umm, which Uhmerica do you live in? Every adverse event must be someone else's fault. Duh!


(that was sarcasm, I note lest I be sued)

Yep! Every time I drive down my street through the maze of little kids whose parents think its fine to let them play where people drive I think that. It's about time the court system started slapping some parents in the head and saying "Watch your own dam kids."

But until they do (and its not happening any time soon) I'll be continuing to drive very slowly and feel completely within my rights to order other people's children out of the streets myself. I am protecting MYSELF as well as them.

We can wish for things to be the way we think they SHOULD be, but it's the reality of the way things ARE we have to deal with.