• Forbes.com, Tuesday, May 22, 2007 10:32 AM

MySpace handed over information about sex offenders on its site to authorities after Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal sent the company a subpoena. A week ago, eight state attorneys general sent a letter to the company demanding that it turn over the user information of convicted felons, but the News Corp. site resisted, saying it couldn't legally provide personal information like names and addresses without "the proper legal process." In some states, that requires a subpoena; MySpace had said it would be happy to comply if issued one. It was.

Said Blumenthal said in a statement: "Our subpoena compels this information right away--within hours, not weeks, without delay." Blumenthal said there are currently 5,000 registered, convicted sex offenders with MySpace profiles.

Nobody wants to see sex offenders on sites like MySpace, but here is another example of how your private information is never really private on the Web. (What about the scores of other social networks frequented by convicted felons?) Applying for a job? You can be sure your would-be employer is Googling your name and checking for profiles on MySpace and Facebook. More than that, if the federal government needs your information, it can subpoena Google, Yahoo, AOL and MySpace for emails, chats, searches, profiles and anything else that leaves a trail.

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