Facebook and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced they reached a settlement concerning the protection of children on the social networking site. Andrew Cuomo's office had previously launched a probe into the alleged access to adult material by some children on Facebook and their safety from online sexual predators.

At the core of the probe stands the principle that if sexual activities between adults and minors are outlawed in the real world, they are also illegal on the Internet. "If it's illegal to do on the corner of Main and Fourth Street, it's illegal to do in the Internet space," Mr. Cuomo said in an interview with WSJ. "The question becomes who enforces the law; who's responsible for it?"

As part of the settlement conditions, Mr. Cuomo said the Palo Alto, Calif., social-networking company will enact new safety procedures that require it to timely respond to user complaints about nudity, pornography or harassment within 24 hours.

"This did start out as an investigation," Facebook vice president and chief privacy officer Chris Kelly explained to reporters at Cuomo's office, "but it has turned into a great cooperative effort that we hope the whole industry will follow."

A undercover investigation into Facebook by Cuomo's people, who posed as children 12 to 13 years old, revealed they were "repeatedly solicited by adult sexual predators" and Facebook's response to their complaints about sexual harassment was slow or inexistent.

In addition to vowing to respond quickly to any complaint, Facebook also agreed to modify the site's terms to indicate that it's not entirely safe for children, as it is, quite clearly, the case with any such online networking site. The company will also have to pay for a third-party Independent Safety and Security Examiner (ISSE) to monitor and report on the site for the next two years. Parents will be able to provide feedback directly to the watchdog group through a special link on the site.

Chris Kelly claims that about 20 percent of Facebook's users are under 18, which amounts to some 9 million users.

"We can't make online sites safe until society is safe," said Chris Kelly. However, "We thought it was important to address safety issues online," Kelly said to WSJ.

However, other AGs want more from social networking sites. For example, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Facebook should add age and identity verification for users 18 and older, filtering technology that would weed out inappropriate content, and a variety of other steps to protect minors.

"New York’s settlement with Facebook is a step forward, but giant strides are needed to make the site safer," Blumenthal said in the statement. "We will explore all options — including possible legal action."