Popular online social networking site Facebook is being investigated by the New York Attorney General's office for claims that it is safe for high school students and small children. The attorney general's office has issued a subpoena to the company asking it to release documents related to the safety protocols on the site.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said that initial investigations had revealed that there were some drawbacks in the safety measures promised to young kids on Facebook. “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,” Mr. Cuomo said in the statement.
Mr. Cuomo said that his office people had set up many accounts on Facebook claiming to be between 12 to 14 years. He added that these accounts had received sexual solicitations from adults. After this the officers complained to Facebook pretending to be parents.
Mr Cuomo said in most cases Facebook did not respond.
In response to the latest concerns, Facebook issued a statement saying, “As our service continues to grow so does our responsibility to our users to empower them with the tools necessary to communicate efficiently and safely. We …are constantly working on processes and technologies that will further improve safety and user control on the site."
Facebook has 42 million users most of whom are young high school students.