This image was lost some time after publication.

Will someone please think of the children? One could see Helen Lovejoy, the hysterical reverend's wife on The Simpsons, taking up this cause: Eliminating sexual predators on MySpace. Six state attorneys general have announced, with MySpace, a "joint statement" on making social networks safer for children. The principles are lofty; the actions promised, few. Most amount to technical upgrades in MySpace's privacy needed to keep the site competitive with Facebook.

Still, MySpace and the state officials get to look like they're doing something about sexual predators. And appearances are everything. For parents, too. With this latest announcement, they get the appearance of being concerned about their children, while leaving the burden of raising them to websites and government officials. There's one brave voice pointing out the obvious: Texas attorney general Greg Abbott, who notes that MySpace's technology is inadequate. Rupert Murdoch could have told us that much.