MySpace: Banning Sex Offenders

MySpace and Facebook alike have been banning/removing users lately who are registered sex offenders. News articles such as this one are commonplace these days. Some state governments, such as North Carolina, are banning the use of social networking websites by sex offenders. By governments banning users they are setting precedents about limiting access of individuals to social networking websites. Some individuals would argue that this is a government acting outside their boundaries by limiting access to these services. The actions the government has taken are for the better and have been allowed by courts thus far.

If the government is forcing MySpace and Facebook to ban users, should they also create regulations that limit the power of Terms of Service? These websites are becoming more and more "regular" forms of communication and almost "must-haves" to function in today's society. A comparison could be made to services such as Electricity and Internet... Does the government have the right or obligation to create standardized regulations for terms of service? It will be interesting to see how this progresses in the future.