Facebook removes 5,500 sex offenders

FACEBOOK has removed more than 5,500 convicted sex offenders from its social networking site since last May.

Connecticut’s attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, said the world’s largest social networking site, which claims to have more than 175 million active members, reported to his office that 5,585 convicted sex offenders were found on the website and removed between May 1, 2008, and January 31.

“The message in this number is Facebook has an equal stake in solving this problem of protecting children,” said Mr Blumenthal.

Along with North Carolina attorney general Roy Cooper, Mr Blumenthal has led an effort to remove sex offenders from social networking sites.

Earlier this month, rival networking site, MySpace, announced it had removed 90,000 sex offenders in a two-year period.

Last year, the attorney general got both sites to implement dozens of safeguards, including finding better ways to verify users’ ages and putting limits on older users’ ability to search the profiles of members under 18.

Facebook’s chief privacy officer, Chris Kelly, said the convicted sexual offenders on the site were found through user reports, working with local law enforcement agencies and using the national sex offender registry.

He said Facebook’s focus on members using their real names and identities helps discourage sex offenders, and even more is being planned to prevent them from registering.

Earlier this month, Facebook officials said policy dictated that no convicted sex offender be allowed to keep a Facebook page.

Mr Kelly said the company has pitched a proposal to attorney generals around the country to develop a real-time system, cross-checking available outlets and “block any registration from the get-go”.