Negligence Suit Against MySpace Dismissed

A negligence lawsuit filed by a Texas family after a 13-year-old girl was assaulted by a 19-year-old man after meeting on MySpace was dismissed Wednesday, with a U.S. District Judge saying the site was protected by the Communications Decency Act.

Under the CDA, MySpace is considered an "interactive service." With that designation, it is given immunity to lawsuits that are filed against it over third-party communications. Also, it was found that the girl lied about her age.

MySpace had asked District Judge Sam Sparks to dismiss the charges shortly after they were filed.

The girl, whose identity has been hidden due to her age, was 13 at the time of the attack, whereas the minimum age to join MySpace is 14. On the site, her profile listed her age as 18.

Wednesday's judgment may put into jeopardy another suit against MySpace filed last month in Los Angeles Superior Court. Like this suit, it accused the social networking site of negligence, recklessness, fraud, and negligent representation.

Law firm Barry and Loewy, which represented the family in the case, said it intended to appeal the negligence charge, while refilling the fraud and misrepresentation charges in another court soon.

As the suits mentioned above were filed in state court, the federal ruling would not be binding. However, law experts say the judgment could help MySpace in having the charges dismissed there as well.