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Colorado AG praises Facebook safeguards

40 new measures to aid kids against online predators

By Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published May 8, 2008 at 9:30 p.m.

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Facebook will put in new safeguards to protect children from online predators and inappropriate content.

More than 40 measures will be implemented by the popular social networking Web site under an agreement reached Thursday with state attorneys general across the country.

"This agreement follows on the heels of a similar accord we reached with MySpace earlier this year," said Colorado Attorney General John Suthers. "I applaud Facebook for voluntarily implementing these changes to help protect our kids."

Under the agreement, Facebook will make a number of changes, which will:

* Provide automatic warnings when a child is in danger of giving out personal information.

* Restrict the ability of users to change their listed ages and to allow Web site staff to review age change requests.

* Act more agressively in removing inappropriate content and groups from the site.

* Display safety tips more prominently.

* Require that users under the age of 18 have read Facebook's safety tips before they sign up.

* Ensure companies that offer services on the site comply with its safety and privacy guidelines.

Facebook, which has more than 70 million users worldwide, has implemented many of the new safeguards, according to its officials.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.