Palo Alto, Calif. - Online social network Facebook on Thursday introduced a number of new privacy protections intended to safeguard younger users from sexual predators and cyberbullies, the Associated Press reported.

"The agreement marks another watershed step toward social networking safety, protecting kids from online predators and inappropriate content," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who approved of the new measures alongside attorneys general from every state except Texas.

Facebook now officially bans convicted sex offenders, and will seek to develop better means of age verification for members, as well as limit older members' ability to search profiles of users under 18.

Other new measures will remove Facebook groups that may deal with bullying, incest or pedophilia, and keep tobacco and alcohol-related ads from appearing to minors.

MySpace made a similar pact with the state attorneys general last year.

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/27y4s (AP)

http://snipurl.com/27y5l (TechCrunch)

http://www.ct.gov/ag

http://www.facebook.com