Discuss if organizations such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. are ethically obligated to be morally responsible?

Facebook is facing a new challenge. With the increased popularity of the Internet and social networking sites comes issues concerning privacy, and in particular, the privacy of children. One regulation, enacted in 1998 and taking effect in 2000 called the “Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act” (or COPPA), was crafted to combat this problem by generally prohibiting “website operators from knowingly collecting personally identifiable information from children under 13 without parental consent,” according to The Wall Street Journal. “The law was intended to give parents control over the information collected from their children online and how that information is used and shared,” the article continues.

Recent survey evidence shows that one third of parents surveyed know their children joined Facebook before they were 13, and three quarters of those surveyed even helped their children create their account!

If you were a high-level manager at Facebook, what should you do? Discuss if organizations such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. are ethically obligated to be morally responsible? Has Facebook taken action to be both ethically and legally responsible? Why or why not?