About 7.5 million active Facebook users are lying about their age — they’re younger than 13. And among those preteens, more than 5 million are under 10, according to a recent Consumer Reports survey. That violates Facebook’s own policy, meant to avoid federal regulations that apply to websites with young members. Those regulations require people who sign up to be 13 or older, the report says. The minors’ accounts “were largely unsupervised by their parents, exposing them to malware or serious threats such as predators and bullies,” according to a Consumer Reports statement. According to the survey, Facebook browsing has exposed more than 5 million American households in the last year to some form of abuse, including viruses and identity theft.
Zumiez CFO resigns, plans Atlanta return
Trevor Lang has resigned as chief financial officer, administrative officer and secretary for Everett-based Zumiez effective June 1, the company announced, saying he’s moving back to Atlanta. CEO Rick Brooks said Lang has done an excellent job during his four years “helping guide us through the great recession.” He said the company is in good financial shape. Zumiez is a specialty retailer of action sports related apparel, footwear, equipment and accessories, focusing on skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, motocross and BMX.
Japan earthquake hurts Disney income
The Walt Disney Co. says its second-quarter net income slipped 1 percent to miss analyst expectations as its amusement parks were hurt by the Japan earthquake and tsunami and the shift in the Easter holiday. Studio profit also was hit by the poor box office performance of “Mars Needs Moms.” Net income for the three months ended April 2 fell to $942 million, or 49 cents per share, from $953 million, or 48 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue grew 6 percent to $9.08 billion from $8.58 billion a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet were looking for earnings of 57 cents per share on $9.12 billion in revenue.
SEC open to easing stock offering rules
The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission says the agency is open to easing rules for private companies that issue stock. But it must first weigh the benefits of those changes against a potential rise in fraudulent stock offerings. Private companies can keep their finances secret if they have fewer than 500 shareholders. The SEC is trying to see if it makes sense to raise the threshold. A change would make it easier for Facebook, Twitter and others to raise money without meeting the reporting requirements for public companies. Schapiro says she’s sympathetic to businesses’ complaint that the limit restricts their ability to raise capital. But she and her staff say looser requirements could also lead to more cases of phony companies scamming investors.
From Herald news services
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