MySpace to share sex offender data

RALEIGH (AP) — MySpace.com says it will provide data on registered sex offenders it has identified and removed from the popular social networking Web site.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper and colleagues in seven states demanded the company provide data on how many registered sex offenders are using the site and where they live.

MySpace initially refused, citing federal privacy laws.

MySpace obtained the data from Sentinel Tech Holding Corporation, which it worked with in December to build a database with information on sex offenders in the United States.

MySpace said it had always planned to share the data with police, adding it's already deleted the online profiles of sex offenders.

Cooper's office says the information might be used to look for parole violations.

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