Facebook makes an empty gesture, clueless politicians cheer.

What the fuck do these people not get? This is the internet. It is not a physical place. If I want to say that I'm a 60 year old Korean gay man, then I am. Yet, somehow, politicians seem to think that it is possible to regulate users on these social networking sites. You simply cannot. The only possible way I can think of is to have a national ID, a database of such IDs, and then be able to cross reference. Of course, such a system would have an extremely high potential for abuse. Even if they did do such a thing, people would just steal or "force crack" ID numbers to create new accounts.

Facebook, the world's second-largest social networking Web site, will add more than 40 safeguards to protect young users from sexual predators and cyberbullies, attorneys general from several states said Thursday.

The changes include banning convicted sex offenders from the site, limiting older users' ability to search online for subscribers under 18 and building a task force seeking ways to better verify users' ages and identities.

HOW? How in the fuck is that possible? It's not. There is no way anyone can verify who you are on the internet, especially if you're careful about it. Use Privoxy and Tor as proxies, go through SSL tunnels to encrypt data, use ghost IP addys to send one-way data. There is no way anyone from Facebook can ever verify who I really am, if I am who I claim I am, and if such information is indeed legit. It is simply not possible.

Among other changes, Facebook has agreed to:

• Ensure that companies offering services on its site comply with its safety and privacy guidelines.

• Keep tobacco and alcohol ads from users too young to purchase those products.

• Remove groups whose comments or images suggest that they involve incest, pedophilia, bullying or other inappropriate content.

• Send warning messages when a child is in danger of giving personal information to an adult.

• Review users' profiles when they ask to change their age, ensuring that the update is legitimate and not intended to let adults masquerade as children.
- Source

Ooooh, how tricky. Now they can't change their age. Because, you know, it's not like they can't just create a new account using fake credentials.

You want your kids to be safe from online predators? Then fucking talk to them about it. Explain to them about the anonymity of the internet and how what is done and said on the internet is not always what it seems. If you don't understand the internet yourself, then learn about it. Have guest speakers at schools talk about the workings of the internet and potential dangers. Don't expect these sites to do your job for you, because they can't. It is, quite simply, absolutely impossible to do.