Facebook Agrees To Enhance User Safety

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook Inc. said yesterday that it has reached an agreement with the attorneys general of 49 states and the District of Columbia to protect the safety of users, particularly young ones, much as MySpace Inc., News Corp.'s rival social network, did several months ago.

Facebook will use technology that verifies users' ages, restricts the ability of users to change their ages on the site, and dispatches warnings when a minor may be giving personal information to an adult he or she does not know, among other steps, the Palo Alto, Calif., company said. It will also become involved with an Internet safety task force.

Facebook's chief privacy officer, Chris Kelly, said that the site already has many safety features in place to protect users and that this is just another step in Facebook's mission to enhance privacy.

The lone holdout was Texas, which also did not sign on to the plan that MySpace sealed with attorneys general in January. "We are in a continuing dialogue with the state of Texas," Mr. Kelly said.

Facebook found itself caught up in a media firestorm in October when Attorney General Cuomo subpoenaed Facebook, saying an undercover operation found that the site responded too slowly to complaints of harassment and inappropriate conduct. Facebook reached an agreement with Mr. Cuomo later that month.

Facebook is adding an experienced executive to help wrestle with public policy issues. This week, it hired Elliot Schrage, Google Inc.'s vice president of global communications and public policy.

"We have invested a great deal of effort to build a safer, more trusted environment," Mr. Kelly said.