Thousands of MySpace sex offender "refugees" booted off Facebook

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Since last May, Facebook has removed 5,500 registered sex offenders from its social network, many of whom are claimed to be ‘refugees’ from MySpace who themselves have booted 90,000 sex offenders in the last couple of years.

Last year, the Attorney General of the USA forced both sites to implement considerably more stringent safeguards – preventing older users searching profiles of sub-18-year-olds, and finding better ways of age verification.

Facebook relies on using people’s real names, and that helps, but the amount of people I know on Facebook who aren’t using their exact real names makes that reliance rather concerning. There’ll always be sex offenders on the sites, I suppose, and what’s most needed is a bit of common sense, and education, in kids of the dangers.

(via AP and TechCrunch)

Bill Gates unleashes horde of mosquitos into packed conference hall

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Screaming “Not only poor people should experience this!”, last night Bill Gates released a swarm of mosquitoes into the audience at TED – a technology conference in California. You just can’t make this stuff up.

Gates, whose foundation spends millions of dollars on combating malaria, was making a point that rich countries don’t pay the disease enough attention because it doesn’t really impact their citizenry. Still, hell of a PR stunt!

The Twittersphere reported the swarm as it was release, with eBay founder and Twitter CEO Pierre Omidyar providing the best commentary.

(via Switched)

More insanity: Canon doesn’t make vacuum cleaners | Google blacklists ENTIRE INTERNET