Keeping online playgrounds safe

New York's Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has introduced legislation — described as a Megan's Law for the web –to keep sexual predators away from children online.

The Electronic Security and Targeting of Online Predators Act (E-Stop) focuses on social networks. According to Cuomo, the law prohibits serious sex offenders from visiting social networks that attract young people, and from communicating with anyone under 18 online.

E-Stop includes an email registry where every parolee will have to provide email or on-screen identities to a state registry.

Social networks will have access to the registry so they can screen users for matches. Facebook and MySpace have committed to use the registry as soon as it is available.

The press release counts 627,000 registered sex offenders in the US, and 28 million regular internet users between the ages of 10 and 17.