Attorney Generals From 49 States and D.C.: Facebook Will Change Rules to Protect Kids
Posted on: Friday, 9 May 2008, 09:00 CDT
By Anjanette Riley
The attorneys general of 49 states and the District of Columbia announced May 8 that the social networking Web site Facebook has agreed to make changes to better protect minors from inappropriate content and online preditors. The attorneys general formed a panel 2006 to make social networking safer for the nation's minors. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot was the only one to withhold participation.
The agreement with Facebook is similar to an agreement announced in January with the website MySpace.
"This is another milestone in our efforts to ensure young people are safe on the Internet," said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard. "Facebook's agreement to embrace key principles of Internet safety means that two of the largest social networking sites in the U.S. have now voluntarily set standards aimed to protect young people."
Changes agreed to by Facebook include providing automatic warning messages to keep users from giving out personal information, restricting the ability of users to change the age listed on their profile and allowing users under 18 to block any users over 18 from contacting them.
Facebook also has agreed to regularly sever any links to pornographic or adult-themed Web sites.
Any groups that are found to contain pornographic or other inappropriate content will be expelled from the site.
"We live in an age in which communication is transforming. More people share information online than ever before," Chris Kelly, Facebook's chief privacy officer, stated in a May 8 press release. "Privacy and safety are a core part of helping individuals share information with the people who matter to them most. Society must educate its youth about safe practices on the Internet and empower its children to act responsibly."
Originally published by Anjanette Riley.
(c) 2008 Arizona Capitol Times. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Arizona Capitol Times
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