Thank you Attorney General Cuomo and to the State of New York for hosting Facebook here today.
As a native New Yorker, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had hoped to join us today. He asked that I represent the company today as we work with Attorney General Cuomo to enhance our efforts to make Facebook a trusted online environment for all users.
When Mark and his co-founders built the Facebook website in 2004, privacy was a core tenet. This was evident early on by the segmented structure of networks and extensive privacy options. Today, with over 47 million active users, we at Facebook are committed to the principles from our founding days.
We have worked closely with the Attorney General over the last several weeks with a renewed vigilance to empower people to be safe on Facebook. We care deeply about Facebook users. Today, we pledge a solution.
In addition to the terms of the agreement laid out by Attorney General Cuomo, Facebook will continue to develop sophisticated safety technology and offer users extensive privacy controls so they can make their information available only to the people they choose.
We will welcome the Independent Safety and Security Examiner to work closely with me and the other members of our Privacy and Safety team, including former Indiana Attorney General Jeff Modisett, and former Federal Trade Commissioner Mozelle Thompson.
We live in an age in which communication is transforming. More people share information online than ever before. Privacy and safety are a core part of helping individuals share information with the people who matter to them most. Society must educate its youth about safe practices on the Internet and empower its children to act responsibly.
Attorney General Cuomo has taken a leadership role in this charge. We are proud to join him today to define and lead technology industry standards for online safety. We will also continue our longstanding work with him and the other attorneys general through the 50-state task force on Internet Safety to extend and improve key standards for online safety.
Facebook is committed to leadership in offering its users a trusted online environment.
Thank you for your time.