NY Attorney General Subpoenas Facebook Over User Safety

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has stated that Facebook is ignoring complaints about sexual predators. From the press release, "Cuomo warned the company that a preliminary review conducted by his office revealed significant defects in the site’s safety controls and the company’s response to complaints – deficiencies that stand in contrast to the reassuring statements made on the website and by company officials."

“My office is concerned that Facebook’s promise of a safe website is not consistent with its performance in policing its site and responding to complaints,” Cuomo said. “Parents have a right to know what their children will encounter on a website that is aggressively marketed as safe.”

The office setup several "underage" profiles on Facebook and within days began receiving chat requests of a graphic nature. In subpoenaing the company, Cuomo has asked for complaints received by Facebook regarding inappropriate solicitation of underage users and inappropriate content on the site, as well as any responses by the website. The subpoena also calls for all Facebook policies on user safety and all representations made to consumers about the safety of the site.

Too bad this release wasn’t out a week earlier as it would have made great conversation during Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote chat at Techcrunch40.