What Facebook Could Learn from MySpace

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MySpace has developed a team that previews all uploaded material to verify that it is not pornographic, whereas Facebook does not practice image review, according to Hughes.

A Facebook spokesperson declined to detail the company's safety practices, but said in a statement, "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." On its site, Facebook recommends that children ages 13 to 18 "ask their parents for permission before sending any information about themselves to anyone over the Internet." Users also can restrict access to their Facebook profiles by non-"friends." Other protections include a stipulation that only current high school students can join high school networks. Facebook also has a chief privacy officer, Chris Kelly, though it doesn't disclose Kelly's responsibilities.

Gatekeepers Needed

Such measures are not stringent enough, says Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who has alleged the site allows sex offenders to register profiles. "Facebook has a long way to go before we are satisfied," Blumenthal said in a statement. "We will continue to consider all options, including possible legal action, to assure that Facebook and other social networking Web sites better protect children from sexual predators and adult material."

For its part, MySpace works with Enough Is Enough to produce educational literature and forums in online safety to parents and kids. MySpace also works with law enforcement to crack down on cyberpredators. In December, 2006, MySpace contracted Sentinel Tech Holding, a provider of online identity verification, to create a database of e-mails and physical descriptions of more than 500,000 registered sex offenders. The database is used to screen profiles on social networks, and matches are taken down. MySpace reportedly removed 29,000 profiles as a result of the technology. Facebook, which does not currently use the database, "grew incredibly rapidly, and they weren't ready for the security problems that were going to hit them," says Sentinel Tech CEO John Cardillo. "It's a growing pain. It's something that happens when you become successful."

To cope with those pains, Facebook needs to overhaul its security, starting by appointing someone to lead the way to a safer site, Hughes says. The company ought to have its own staff devoted to taking down inappropriate content and providing a better response when children or parents report improper behavior.

Until then, safety on Facebook begins with users like Alana Morales, a 14-year-old high school student who says she spends about an hour on the site each day. She takes steps to protect herself by only accepting requests from people she knows from school. "Just being on the computer, you're not safe," she says. "Someone can IM you, and you don't know if they are who they say they are."

Paula Lehman is an editorial assistant for BusinessWeek in New York.