MySpace proves to be useful investigative technique

Law enforcement Tuesday traced a missing 15-year-old Texas girl to Lawrence using information from her MySpace account. In working with security personnel from the Web site, police were able to trace her last log-in to an IP address in Lawrence. You can see the full story here.While it’s awesome the girl was found and that she was safe, it raises the question of Internet privacy.Every time you enter personal information and log on to a Web site, information about where you are can be tracked. Even when people post comments on this Web site, an IP address is logged. The number shows what computer network you’re accessing the Internet from.Is that a good or a bad thing?Without the technology, the missing Texas girl may still be wandering around with the 33-year-old man police found her with. When police found the two, the man was arrested on charges including aggravated indecent liberties with a child and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.But at the same time, do you take comfort in knowing that police have the ability to track you down when you log on to a similar site?