Facebook Subpoenaed Over Sexual Predator Complaints

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The New York Attorney General has subpoenaed Facebook after the company did not respond to "many" complaints by investigators who were solicited for sex while posing as teenagers on the social-networking site. State investigators, who set up profiles as 12- to 14-year olds, said they were quickly contacted by other Facebook users with comments such as "u look too hot....... can i c u online," "do you like sex?" and "call me if u want to do sex with me." Investigators said that when they wrote to Palo Alto, Calif.-based Facebook about their experiences, the concerns were ignored "many" times.

"My office is concerned that Facebook's promise of a safe Web site is not consistent with its performance in policing its site and responding to complaints," said Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. "Parents have a right to know what their children will encounter on a Web site that is aggressively marketed as safe." On Monday, Cuomo publicly released a letter to Facebook about its safety claims with concerns based on several "undercover tests" in recent weeks. The subpoenas seek complaints made to the company and copies of its policies though the investigation is still in the early stages.

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(2 replies) #1 illz55 on 25 Sep 2007 - 02:39

Now, let's sue car companies for not responding to complaints of evil men luring children into them for rape and kidnapping. This is stupid. It's up to the parents to ensure the safety of their child on the internet, not Facebook. What are they supposed to do anyway? They have TONS of security and privacy features as it is. They can't ban or punish someone for simply writing a message like that either. Maybe they should continue using those usernames to get these possible "sex predators" to show up somewhere and then apprehend them. Although I bet half of them are just 16 year old teenage guys looking for webcam cybersex or some crap.

Last edited by illz55 on 25 Sep 2007 - 02:50

#1.1 Joseph21 on 25 Sep 2007 - 02:51

i agree.... i guess this is another try to make money off a popular internet site.

#1.2 myrhymeandreason on 25 Sep 2007 - 11:34

Best response you could have to this.
And aren't the under cover investigators breaking the agreement of age requirements?

(1 reply) #2 +rm20010 on 25 Sep 2007 - 03:13

Note number 1: 12 year olds shouldn't be on Facebook. Minimum age requirement is that of a high schooler or grade 8 moving onto high school.

#2.1 RAID 0 on 25 Sep 2007 - 03:17

Note number 2:
Parents should be watching what their kids look at on-line.

Note number 3:
People don't like to take responsibility for their actions, or lack of. It's easier to pass the buck.

Note number 4:
People are stupid

#3 LipSmacker on 25 Sep 2007 - 12:18

Alright Facebook! I guess they should of listened to all of us complaining... you should have kept it closed and not opened it up like myspace....

(1 reply) #4 duntkno on 25 Sep 2007 - 12:45

even with vehicles, there is a registry of the diff components a car has available to officers and such. They may just be asking for ip's of those soliciting sex...

#4.1 Magallanes on 25 Sep 2007 - 13:59

With a judicial order every attorney can ask for the ip and or profile of the predator but i think that this case is more a "in search of a lucrative sue".

#5 Persephone on 25 Sep 2007 - 16:13

I have never had problems like this on Facebook. I suspect that they set up the profiles on purpose to encourage this sort of thing i.e. not using the privacy settings, dodgy pictures.

#6 zivan56 on 25 Sep 2007 - 18:00

That's why it should have stayed University only...

(2 replies) #7 Moonwolf on 25 Sep 2007 - 18:31

To say the truth I have notice for the past 3 month that it is getting to be more porn than anything else.
I mean there was one time it was really moderated...now you got profiles showing there naked parts and no one is reporting it.
They don't even have a button to report an offensive profile. And try to reach the administrators. To find them it not that simple either.

I still find facebook a great source of finding your longtime friends. Which I did and I still find it better than myspace. I find myspace is more a junkyard to drop your crap all over the place.

Since Facebook is growing I find that they should really pay more attention to adult content in there website. And get more moderators to take care of offensive profiles.

#7.1 RAID 0 on 25 Sep 2007 - 19:03

Define "offensive". On the old MySpace, there's TONS of pics with chicks looking like sluts, kissing other girls and acting like ho bags. For some reason that's not "offensive"; but I can't have a pic of a masturbating monkey as my default picture.

#7.2 Jugalator on 25 Sep 2007 - 21:34

Quote -

And try to reach the administrators. To find them it not that simple either.

http://www.facebook.com/help.php?tab=safety
and
http://www.facebook.com/help.php?show_form=15

(may require a log in)

Not only that, you can also block people from viewing your profile, and set defaults so only friends can view profile. So even if your friend didn't turn out to be much of a friend, you can completely shut him/her out. If it seemed to be a sexual offender too, one can go ahead to take further actions too. I honestly don't see the problem...

#8 neufuse on 25 Sep 2007 - 19:01

Facebook was better when it was college only... because you had to verify you where who you where by using your univeristy e-mail address that tied you to an actual person at the university... Facebook drop this non-college stuff and go back to what you where!

#9 black_death on 25 Sep 2007 - 20:30

Facebook is probably one of the most private social networking sites around, definitley safer tha myspace and myspace won legal arguments. What the hell do they want them to do, check their criminal records before letting people join?

#10 Jugalator on 25 Sep 2007 - 21:27

Must suck to be them.

Today it's damn near impossible to build a social networking site without getting in legal trouble and the bad rep following it, because of some nutjob that is turned on by kids and ruining your day.

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