In February 2013, the company was fined $800,000 by the FTC for storing data from underage users and will be required to have its privacy policies assessed every two years for the next 20 years.

Current parental controls would limit access for underage users, and adults can use their own sense of judgment.

The state attorney general's office last week filed lawsuits against three foreign-based Internet operations that, according to authorities, provide illegal gambling and make it available to underage users.

GoPets provided a Child Safety Mode which, once activated, allows the guardian to establish a Protector ID that limited the functions available for underage users.

Underage users, who are under 18 in real life, are not allowed onto the main grid, and being an underage user there is an offense that can be abuse reported.

However, Linden Lab places burden of proof on alleged underage users, and does not check to verify anything themselves.

Flaw in Facebook's system for reporting inappropriate content apparently used by adults to view pictures of underage users.

Facebook has scrambled to shut down a security hole that let anyone view photos marked as "private" - and which has apparently been used by adults to view pictures of underage users without their knowledge.

The Children's Internet Protection Act requires that libraries receiving federal aid for Internet access install filters that block material considered obscene or, in the case of underage users, "harmful to minors."

The study notes that, in response to widespread reports of underage users, a Facebook executive has said that "Facebook removes 20,000 people a day, people who are underage."