By Brian Womack - May 10, 2011 11:59 AM ET, Consumer Reports
Facebook Inc., the world’s most popular social-networking service, had 7.5 million U.S. users who were younger than 13 in the past year, a violation of the site’s policies, according to a survey by Consumer Reports.
More than 5 million of the users were under age 11, according to the Consumer Reports “State of the Net” survey. In addition, Facebook exposed more than 5 million U.S. households to some type of “abuse,” including virus infections and identity theft, the survey showed. About 1 million children experienced bullying on the site, Consumer Reports said.
“Despite Facebook’s age requirements, many kids are using the site who shouldn’t be,” said Jeff Fox, technology editor for the Yonkers, New York, magazine. “What’s even more troubling was the finding from our survey that indicated that a majority of parents of kids 10 and under seemed largely unconcerned by their children’s use of the site.”
Facebook requires users to be at least 13 -- and older in some jurisdictions.
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