MySpace deletes murder suspect's profile

Angus Kidman
Tuesday, 19 December 2006 06:40

Your IT - Home IT

What should a social networking site do when one of its users turns out to be the focus of a major murder investigation? For MySpace, the answer has turned out to be pretty simple: delete their profile.

Following the arrest of Tom Stephens on suspicion of murdering five women in Ipswich, UK journalists were quick to uncover Stephens' MySpace profile. A photograph of Stephens taken from the profile was widely used in news reports on the arrest, along with details drawn from the MySpace entry such as his fondness for cartoon character Hong Kong Phooey.

The page proved a bonanza for writers seeking background on Stephens, who denied any involvement in the murders in a number of media interviews prior to his arrest. However, that resource has been cut off.

Visitors to Stephens' profile now encounter the message: "Invalid Friend ID: This user has either cancelled their membership, or their account has been deleted."

MySpace remains the most popular example of the 'social networking' trend, making it almost inevitable that individuals on it will become the subject of criminal investigation from time to time.

Under MySpace's terms of use, it can "terminate . . . access to all or any part of the MySpace Services at any time, for any or no reason, with or without prior notice, and without liability."