Social networking site Facebook has been ordered to turn over information on whether registered sex offenders have set up profiles on its site. The Attorney General"s office of New Jersey has supoenaed the popular social network, along with 11 other social networking sites, ordering them to release the information.
Facebook was sent a list of registered sex offenders in the state in September, and any matching profiles were removed, although the company will not divulge an exact number. However, Anne Milgram, the attorney general in New Jersey, is seeking names and email addresses of those the site identified. The return date for the subpoena is 12 October. Only a few weeks ago Facebook had fallen foul of New York state officials over its claims that younger users are more protected from sexual predators on Facebook than on other websites. State investigators who registered on the site posing as 12 to 14-year-olds claimed they had been solicited for sex.