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• May 8, 2008 1:52 pm US/Eastern
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  Facebook Sets Bullying, Predator Safeguards

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Facebook Sets Bullying, Predator Safeguards

BOSTON (WBZ) ― Facebook, the world's second-largest social networking Web site, will add more than 40 new safeguards to protect young users from sexual predators and cyberbullies, attorneys general from several states said Thursday.
 
The changes include banning convicted sex offenders from the site, limiting older users' ability to search online for subscribers under 18 and building a task force seeking ways to better verify users' ages and identities. 
 
Officials from Massachusetts and 48 other states have signed on.

"We are excited to announce this agreement with Facebook because yet another leader in the social networking industry is not only acknowledging the importance of protecting children from inappropriate content and contact but also making significant changes to its site to enhance the safety of minors using the site," Attorney General Coakley said in a statement.

Texas has not endorsed this agreement or a similar one reached in January among the other states, the District of Columbia and MySpace.

The attorneys general have been negotiating for months with Facebook and MySpace, the world's largest online social network with 200 million users around the world, for tighter controls.

Facebook has more than 70 million active users worldwide.
 
MySpace, Facebook and other online networks have created a new venue for sexual predators, who often lie about their age to lure young victims to chat, share images and sometimes meet in person. It also has spawned cyberbullies, who have sent threatening and anonymous messages to other users, sometimes classmates and others they know.
 
Among other changes, Facebook has agreed to:

• Ensure companies offering services on its site comply with its safety and privacy guidelines. 
• Keep tobacco and alcohol ads from users too young to purchase those products.
• Remove groups whose comments or images suggest they involve incest, pedophilia, bullying or other inappropriate content.
• Send warning messages when a child is in danger of giving personal information to an adult.
• Review users' profiles when they ask to change their age, ensuring the update is legitimate and not intended to let adults masquerade as children.

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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