Criticism

Accessibility

The registration process for a new MySpace account includes a visual CAPTCHA test, with no alternative method for the visually impaired. As a result, people with blindness or visual impairment are prevented from fully participating.

Since most MySpace pages are designed by individuals with little HTML experience, a very large proportion of pages do not satisfy the criteria for valid HTML or CSS laid down by the W3C. Poorly formatted code can cause accessibility problems for those using software such as screen readers. Indeed, the MySpace home page, as of 30th December 2006, fails HTML validation with 268 errors.

Furthermore, MySpace is set up so that anyone can customize the layout and colors of their profile page with virtually no restrictions, provided that the advertisements aren't covered up by CSS or using other means. As MySpace users are usually not skilled web developers, this can cause further problems. Poorly constructed MySpace profiles could potentially freeze up web browsers due to malformed CSS coding, or as a result of users placing many high bandwidth objects such as videos, graphics, and Flash in their profiles (sometimes multiple videos and soundfiles are automatically played at the same time when a profile loads). PC World magazine cited this as its main reason for naming MySpace as #1 in its list of 25 worst web sites ever.

In addition, new features have been gradually added. This, and the increasing number of MySpace members, leads to an increase in used bandwidth. This increase in usage sometimes slows down the servers and may result in a "Server Too Busy" error message for some users who are on at peak hours, "Sorry! an unexpected error has occurred. This error has been forwarded to MySpace's technical group.", or a variety of any other error messages throughout the day.

MySpace and professionalism

The Chicago Tribune's RedEye printed an article concerning MySpace and an individual's search for employment. It was argued that young college graduates compromise their chances of starting careers because of the content they post onto their profiles. For instance, a visitor does not need an account to browse for users using information that is readily available on resumes and applications, such as a postal code and age. A potential employer can utilize information provided by the applicant on MySpace's search engine. Thus, the employer may not hire a highly qualified candidate because he or she maintains an account suggesting rambunctious behaviour. Moreover, employees were said to be putting their careers at risk because they maintain blogs that criticize their respective companies and organizations.

Security

In October 2005, a flaw in the MySpace's site design was exploited by a user only known as "Samy" to create the world's first self-propagating cross-site scripting (XSS) worm. MSNBC has also reported that MySpace is a "hotbed" for spyware, and that infection rates are rising because of MySpace. In addition to this, the customization of user pages currently allows the injection of certain HTML which can be crafted to form a phishing user profile. More recently, there has been spam on bulletins that has been the result of phishing. Users find their MySpace homepage with bulletins they didn't post, realizing later they had been phished. The bulletin consists of an ad of something, and when it is clicked on, a fake login screen appears, tricking people into typing in their MySpace e-mail and password.

One such example is an advertisement claiming that there is a Britney Spears sex video on MySpace videos. While Tom warns of not giving one's password to a site without myspace.com in the URL, this site is indeed using a URL that includes "login.myspace.com". Any attempt to post a bulletin warning others about this particular spam, and that this information from Tom is inaccurate, never appears. This creates the perception that MySpace itself is in on these phishing schemes for the advertising money.

Other security fears regarding profile content itself are also present. For example, the embedding of videos inherently allows all of the format's abilities and functions to be used on a page. A prime example of this surfaced in December 2006, when embedded QuickTime videos were shown to contain hyperlinks to JavaScript files, which would be run simply by a user visiting an 'infected' profile page, or even in some cases by simply viewing a user's 'about me' elsewhere on the site. Users who entered their login information into a fake login bar that appeared would then become 'infected', and their account would be used to spam other members, thus spreading the infection.

Child safety

The minimum age to register an account on MySpace has been reduced to 14. Profiles with ages set to 14 to 15 years are automatically private. Users whose ages are set at 16 or over have the option to restrict their profiles, and the option of allowing certain personal data to be restricted to people other than those on their friends list. Accessing the full profile of, or messaging someone when their account is set tp "private" (or if under 16) is restricted to a MySpace user's direct friends. However, children are capable of lying about their ages to bypass restrictions.

MySpace often has problems with profile identity theft. These are profiles containing the pictures and sometimes information of someone else's profile. These stolen profiles are commonly used to advertise websites. MySpace will delete these profiles if the victim verifies their identity and points out the profile via e-mail.

Recently, MySpace has been the focus of a number of news reports stating that teenagers have found ways around the restrictions set by MySpace, and have been the target of online predators. In response, MySpace has given assurances to parents that the website is safe for people of all ages. Beginning in late June 2006, MySpace users whose ages are set over 18 could no longer be able to add users whose ages are set from 14 to 15 years as friends unless they already know the user's full name or email address. Some 3rd party Internet Safety companies like Social Shield have launched online communities for parents concerned about their child's safety on MySpace.

In June 2006, 16-year-old Katherine Lester flew to the Middle East, mainly to the Palestinian West Bank after having tricked her parents into getting her a passport in order to be with a 20-year-old man she met through MySpace. US officials in Jordan persuaded the teen to turn around and go home .

Though Myspace has established rules on child safety, but were not enforced as well as they should have been. Until January 17th, 2007, Myspace had been letting many underage users on Myspace, but began cracking down on the rules.

In December 2006 MySpace announced new measures to protect children from known sex offenders. Although precise details were not given they said that "tools" would be implemented to prevent known sex offenders from the USA creating a MySpace profile.

Social and cultural

Dave Itzkoff, in the June 2006 issue of Playboy magazine, related his experiences experimenting with membership in MySpace. Among his criticisms is that the distance afforded by the Internet emboldens members, such as females who feature photos of themselves in little clothing on their profile pages, to behave in ways that they would not behave in person, and that this duplicity undercuts the central philosophy of MySpace, which is to bring people together. Itzkoff also references the addictive, time-consuming nature of the site, mentioning that Playboy Playmate and MySpace member Julie McCullough, who was the first to respond to his Add request, refers to the site as "cybercrack". Itzkoff claims that MySpace gives many people access to a member’s life, without giving the time needed to maintain such relationships, and that such relationships do not possess the depth of in-person relationships.

Itzkoff is particularly critical of the disturbing and fraudulent behavior of people who can contact a member, unsolicited, as when he was contacted by someone expressing a desire to socialize and date, but whose blog (to which Itzkoff was directed via subsequent emails) turned out to be a solicitation for a series of commercial porn sites. Itzkoff is also critical of more subtle commercial solicitations on the site, such as the banner ads and links to profiles and video clips that turn out to be commercials for new 20th Century Fox films. Itzkoff also observes that MySpace’s much-celebrated music section is heavily weighted in favor of record labels rather than breakthrough musicians.

Itzkoff also relates criticism from another person he calls "Judas", who asserts that while the goal of attempting to bring together people who might not otherwise associate with one another in real life may seem honorable, it violates a social contract that exists when people interact in person, which renders MySpace nothing more than a passing fad:

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