States mandate safety on Web site

HARTFORD, Conn. – 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 Washington, Idaho and other states said Thursday.

The changes include banning convicted sex offenders from the site, limiting older users’ ability to search online for subscribers younger than 18 and building a task force seeking ways to better verify users’ ages and identities.

Officials from Washington, D.C., and 49 states have signed on.

Texas has not endorsed this agreement or a similar one reached in January among the other states, the District of Columbia and MySpace. Texas officials have said they want quicker action on verifying users’ ages and identities than the pacts guarantee.

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.

“This agreement establishes that Facebook shares our concerns about creating a safe online environment for children and teens to network,” Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna said in a press release.

Said Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, also in a prepared statement: “I look forward to working with Facebook on developing industry-wide practices to ensure a safe online environment for children.”

Facebook has more than 70 million active users worldwide. Messages seeking comment were left Thursday at its headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif.

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.