It was inevitable that someone would create a Facebook friends / national sex offender registry mashup. The Facebook Friend Verifier app is that mashup, allowing you to scan all of your Facebook friends, and anybody who friend requests you, to see if they are a registered sex offender listed in the National Sex Offender Registry.
Claims Friend Verifier, “Friend Verifier is the first and only application that allows users to scan their current Facebook friends and pending friends request against national sex offender registry.” {sic}
There are, however, poor language skills aside, a few problems with this.
First, the Registry is not always able to disclose whether someone is registered. As even the Registry acknowledges, “not all state Internet sites provide for public disclosure of information about all sex-offenders who reside, work, or attend school in the state.”
So, not all actual offenders are discoverable even if they are registered.
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Second, not everybody who is listed on the Registry is an actual offender. People can end up on the registry, for example, as the result of a false allegation during a custody case.
Teenagers whose only crime is the stupidty of sexting can end up on the Registry.
Third, just who is behind the Facebook Friend Verifier app, and how do you know you can trust it, one way or the other? Personally, if an organization is so sloppy that they can’t even get the grammar right on their website, do you really want to trust them to get something as serious as the sex offender status of someone right?
Personally, we fully expect the first lawsuit against them, for misidentifying someone, within a year.
And finally, and this is an important point, so please don’t miss it:
Actual sex offenders and predators are not going to use their real names on Facebook!
Facebook Friend Verifier is currently only available on Facebook, but they have plans to conquer the world on Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare and Linkedin.
The Internet Patrol is completely free, and reader-supported. Your tips via CashApp, Venmo, or Paypal are appreciated! Receipts will come from ISIPP.
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