MySpace takes down 200,000 "objectionable" profiles

MySpace.com officials have decided that 200,000 "objectionable" profiles had to be removed, as they were containing either "hate speech" or "risqu?content", the Financial Times reported. This action aims to ensure the safety of the social network for young internet users.

This decision was announced by the president of News Corp's Internet division, Ross Levinsohn.

MySpace.com has been acquired by Rupert Murdoch's News Corps last year. The site has almost 66 million users and, and 250,000 new ones are signing up every day, making it one of the best internet destinations for young people.

This decision is part of News Corp's strategy to make MySpace.com more appealing to advertisers. However, according to FT, the company is faced now with two major challenges.

First of all, MySpace must keep young users from switching to other sites. Second, the site must convince advertisers that they won’t be associated with "inappropriate content".