New Gadgets and Gizmos

Facebook announced Thursday an agreement with 49 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia to implement new steps against sexual predators. Only the Texas attorney general refused to sign the agreement.

As huge communities of primarily young people and details about millions of kids, social-networking Web sites have also attracted pedophiles and bullies.

‘Keeping Kids Safe Online’

Under the agreement, Facebook will improve the technology it uses to filter out what it considers inappropriate behavior and add procedures to make it harder for adults to befriend minors. The site also agreed to continue developing age-verification technology and to keep track of bullying or inappropriate content.

Chris Kelley, Facebook’s chief privacy officer, told news media that his company is committed to “keeping kids safe online” and many of the procedures already in place will be enhanced. The site, which claims more than 70 million active members, offers membership to anyone over 13 with an e-mail address. More than half of the users are outside the U.S., and the new procedures will apply to international users as well.

In January, there was a similar agreement with MySpace, which says it has deleted nearly 30,000 convicted sex offenders from the site.

In addition to not agreeing to the Facebook deal, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott also skipped the MySpace agreement in January. At the time, he told news media that social-networking sites “do not adequately protect young users” until “an age verification system is effectively developed and implemented.” MySpace representatives have said more research and development is needed.

The New York Deal

Last October, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo agreed to a settlement with Facebook after undercover child-safety tests showed gaps in the site’s security for younger users. State investigators posed as teenagers and, within a short time, were the recipients of unwanted sexual advances.

Investigators…