Privacy Maven

Ron and Tina Meier appeared on the Today Show, to discuss their 13-year-old daughter, Megan, who committed suicide in the aftermath of a failed MySpace romance, which was later revealed to be a hoax. They say they have not received an apology from the family whom they hold responsible for perpetuating the hoax that lead to their daughter’s death. As they point out:

The family’s story is, Tina Meier told Lauer, a cautionary tale about the trouble that lies in wait for kids on the Internet, a tale made more painful because they had monitored their daughter’s Internet use closely and had talked to her about “Josh” and the events that ended so tragically.

“It was monitored highly,” Tina Meier said of her daughter’s MySpace account. “We had the password. She couldn’t sign on without us. We had to be in the room” when she was online.

They have not filed a civil suit against the people who invented Josh, but are not ruling that out.

And they also want to warn other parents and children to beware of people online who claim to be their friends.

“Continue to monitor your children,” Tina Meier told Lauer. “Take an extra step. Ask the question. Look at their computers, know what they’re doing. To kids, don’t trust anybody online that you do not know is your true friend.”

The article continues. Here is the video of the interview.