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NY Targets Facebook Predators

Cuomo probe uncovers sex solicitation and poor response from company

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 25, 2007 3:49 AM CDT

(Newser) – The online social networking site Facebook is becoming a hangout for sexual predators hunting young victims, according to an undercover investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Investigators pretending to be teenagers on Facebook were repeatedly solicited by adult sexual predators, reports Computerworld. But when complaints were filed with Facebook, the company usually ignored them, probers found.

Cuomo has subpoenaed Facebook's records, seeking complaints about inappropriate solicitation of underage users and the company's response. The investigation "revealed significant defects in the site's safety controls that stand in contrast to the reassuring statements made by company officials," said a letter sent to Facebook with the subpoena.

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.   (Associated Press)
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.   (Associated Press)
Facebook.com's mastermind, Mark Zuckerberg smiles at his office in Palo Alto, Calif., in this Monday, Feb. 5, 2007 file photo.    (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, FILE)
Facebook.com's mastermind, Mark Zuckerberg smiles at his office in Palo Alto, Calif., in this Monday, Feb. 5, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, FILE)   (Associated Press)
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