Facebook, 49 U.S. states, agree on Web safety steps

By Anupreeta Das

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Social networking site Facebook announced an agreement on Thursday with 49 U.S. state attorneys general and the District of Columbia to increase efforts to protect its youngest members from sexual predators.

The additional safety measures follow a similar agreement in January with larger rival MySpace.

Facebook said it would focus on improving the technology it employs to weed out inappropriate online behaviour, and to make it tougher for adults to make friends with minors.

The agreement reflects Facebook's commitment to "keeping kids safe online," said Chris Kelly, the Palo Alto-based company's chief privacy officer.

Both the Facebook and MySpace agreements came in response to calls last year from the attorneys general to improve online safeguards.

The millions of youngsters who share everything from music tastes to intimate details of their lives online have turned social networks into veritable hunting grounds for sexual predators.

Without checks, an adult can pose as a minor and lure a child into parting with information.

Last October, Facebook and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo agreed to settle a child safety probe after undercover tests on the social network's safety controls and procedures showed lapses.