FOSI Welcomes New Facebook Privacy Features

WASHINGTON - Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), made the following statement in response to today's Facebook announcement to improve privacy features by arming users with new tools:

"FOSI welcomes the changes Facebook is making to better provide users with privacy settings. The new tools will offer users more control over their information and confronts the challenge between detailed settings and making options simple to use, a difficult balance. We appreciate Facebook’s continued dedication to empower users by implementing new options and tools."

About FOSI

The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) works to make the online world safer for kids and their families by identifying and promoting best practices, tools and methods that also respect free speech. FOSI’s members include: AOL, AT&T, Blue Coat Systems, BT Retail, Comcast, Facebook, France Telecom, Google, GSM Association, Kingston Communications, Loopt, Microsoft, MySpace, NCTA, Ning, Nominum, Optenet, RuleSpace, Sprint, StreamShield, Symantec, T-Mobile, Time Warner Cable, Telefónica, TELMEX, The Wireless Foundation, Verizon, Yahoo!. FOSI hosts an annual international conference to bring together Internet safety advocates from a variety of sectors, including global corporations, government, non-profits, academia and the media, to discuss the current pulse of online safety and emerging solutions that will enhance it. For more information, please visit www.fosi.org.