Euphemism of the Day: "Complaints" on the Web

Sometimes, when a law enforcement officer asks you to do something, it is best to simply say, "Yes, sir."

That is precisely what Facebook did today by settling a dispute with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of New York over discouraging sexual predators who use the social network to troll for children.

At a press conference in New York City, Cuomo and Facebook's chief privacy officer, Chris Kelly, announced strict new rules designed to keep predators away from kids who use the site.

"The attorney general pointed out some weaknesses in our complaint-handling process," Kelly said, according to a Reuters report. "What he has directed us to do is renew our vigilance around complaint handling."

As part of the deal, Facebook has agreed to begin to address complaints within 24 hours of being alerted of inappropriate activity.

Although no financial penalties were announced, Cuomo said he would appoint a third-party "independent safety and security examiner" to monitor and the site for the next two years, with Facebook footing the bill.

Cuomo subpoenaed Facebook last month to gain information from the company about its efforts to safeguard children from sexual predators on the site.

He found them lacking. Investigators set up dummy accounts to test how quickly Facebook would respond to Cuomo's concerns about inappropriate content.

"We addressed them in a way that we were not happy with," Kelly said. "There is a real opportunity here to set a standard."

Facebook and its larger rival MySpace are currently under investigation by a joint task force of all 50 state attorneys general trying to crack down on sexual predators who use the sites to contact minors.

"This agreement is another step toward protecting children on social networking sites but we still have a long way to go," North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said in a separate statement cited by Reuters. "Our group of attorneys general will keep pushing MySpace, Facebook and other sites to do more."

Facebook, which has been the subject of intense buyout speculation for over a year, appears to be trying very hard to be a good corporate citizen, not least of which is because a protracted legal battle involving child predators—or some other scandal—could give potential bidders second thoughts.

by Sam Gustin