Facebook Protection
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Updated: 5:53 PM May 9, 2008
Facebook Protection
Online predators are lying about their age in hopes of meeting kids. Attorneys General across the country have made an agreement with social networking site Facebook to try and make the site safer. The plan is to catch people who lie about their age.
Posted: 3:21 PM May 8, 2008
Reporter: Whitney Ray

Facebook and Attorney General
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Online predators are lying about their age in hopes of meeting kids. Attorneys General across the country have made an agreement with social networking site Facebook to try and make the site safer. The plan is to catch people who lie about their age.

High School senior Sally Hunt checks her Facebook profile everyday.

“I’m going to college next and I’ve been speaking with my roommate that I’m going to live with next year through it.”

Sally chooses only to network with people she knows, but that doesn’t keep strangers from trying to meet her.

“I’ve had people ask to me to be their friend when I didn’t know who they were.”

Online predators use social networking sites, like Facebook and Myspace to meet victims.

They’re able to lie about their age and use different picture to hide their identity… that is until now.

Attorney General Bill McCollum has entered into an agreement with other Attorneys General across the country to help Facebook hunt online predators.

“If you have somebody’s that already said they’re 50 years old and they all of a sudden want to registrar their age at 19 or 15 or whatever, they’re going to question that.”

Facebook will also send alerts to anyone whose been talking to the potential predator. Sally says even though she’s never encountered an online predator, she knows they’re out there.

“It does happen, so it’s definitely a precaution we need to take even though we don’t see it everyday.”

While the plan won’t catch all the predators, it does provide some comfort to teens like Sally who hope what they see is what they get.

Earlier this year Attorneys General from across the country entered into a similar agreement with Myspace.

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