News

Online protection plans

Sex offenders and paedophiles are likely to be able to continue abusing children over the internet despite government plans to limit opportunities to meet children through forced registration of online names and e-mail addresses, claim lawyers. Richard Scorer, personal injury partner with Pannone LLP Manchester, says that the proposals outlined are not a failsafe means of guarding against sex offenders.

“Paedophiles can and will try to circumvent the measures by not using their home computers, for example, they may go to libraries or set up alternative e-mail addresses to avoid detection,” he says.

The home secretary says the government intends to work with social networking sites to stop offenders using such sites to meet children.

Plans include passing e-mail addresses of registered offenders to such sites who would then act to remove those users. Scorer says, however, that such a measure is unlikely to succeed. “Most of the social networking sites whose co-operation is required, such as Facebook or Myspace, are not based in this jurisdiction and therefore their cooperation cannot be policed and enforced,” he adds.

Lawyers