According to a statement from Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents of Megan's Law, "Parental controls alone are not going to stop sexual predators from trolling the Internet in search of unsuspecting children; that’s why we need strong laws to protect them.'' Megan's Law was created in 1994 after the sexual assault and murder of 7 year- old New Jersey girl, Megan Nicole Kanka. Megan was lured into a neighbor's home and brutally murdered by a twice convicted sex offender.
In response to some studies that have found that sexual predator risks on social networking sites is ''overblown,'' The Crimes Against Children Research Center has explained that "Internet sex crimes involving adults and juveniles more often fit a model of statutory rape — adult offenders who meet, develop relationships with, and openly seduce underage teenagers — than a model of forcible sexual assault or pedophiliac child molesting. This is a serious problem, but one that requires different approaches from current prevention messages emphasizing parental control and the dangers of divulging personal information.''
Social networking sites have removed the accounts of sex offenders previously; in 2007, MySpace deleted over 20,000 accounts and removed another 90,000 accounts in February of 2009.
Illinois has also passed its own law prohibiting sex offenders from registering on social networking sites, and felony charges will apply for those breaking the law. In 2008, Britain proposed that all registered sex offenders must submit their email addresses to the government in order to monitor their presence on social networking sites.
