FTC Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour told the House Energy and Commerce Committee that sexual predators are poised to “use the information that children provide on social networking sites to identify, contact, and exploit them, unless these sites are constructed to reduce access to this information, or users themselves take steps to limit unwanted access.”

The FTC has prepared a parental guide (pdf) and a teen guide (pdf). It is also investigating social networking sites like MySpace “to determine whether they are in compliance with COPPA” regarding collecting information on children under 13. (tip)