By BRAD STONE
THE NEW YORK TIMES

The social network Facebook has reached an agreement with 49 state attorneys general to institute a broad set of principles intended to protect young users from online predators and inappropriate material.

The company will require users under 18 to confirm they have read Facebook’s safety tips when they sign up; the site will also display a prominent “report abuse” icon devised by the New Jersey attorney general.

Facebook will also no longer let people significantly change their ages without review and has agreed to take down within 24 hours any material flagged as inappropriate.

To obtain proof that people are as old as they say they are on the service, the company is developing behavioral technology to weed out fibbers, said Chris Kelly, who work on privacy matters for Facebook. Such technology could, for example, identify when someone is friends with people of a significantly different age — an indication that perhaps an older person is trying to contact young people.

READ MORE: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/technology/09face.html?ref=business

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