Facebook Finally Gets Children-Friendly

by Muse on July 12th, 2010 5

Child protection application on Facebook

What is the best way to protect kids? Put them in charge. Atleast Facebook seems to come around to finally believing it.

After repeatedly ignoring intrusive prods from the Child Exploitation and Protection Centre (CEOP), which appealed for a special panic button on the profile pages of young users, Facebook has conceded at last. A new application on the most widespread social networking site will allow youngsters to report weird and doubtful behavior directly to the authorities.

Facebook already prohibits people under 13 from signing up. But that is a tough testimony to be believed. High-ups in the previous British government had tried to convince Facebook to add a CEOP button to the profiles of minors. The concern had risen after 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall was murdered by a serial rapist. The murderer Peter Chapman, also known as the “Facebook Killer”, lured Hall to meet him after using Facebook to befriend her.

Zuckerberg’s brainchild faced serious flak from Hall’s mother, chiding its incapability of protecting kids. In response, Facebook added a link to CEOP accessible from its Safety Centre. Facebook also faced brickbats when other sites like Bebo and MSN incorporated the CEOP button, but it failed to follow suit.

Fortunately enough, recent talks between CEOP and the site seem to have borne some fruit. A final consensus between the two introduces a special application which offers advice and allows reporting of suspicious cases.

Nevertheless, Jim Gamble, Chief Executive of CEOP, admits that it wasn’t easy. Gamble, who is also the senior policeman appointed for online child protection says the deal took some time to finalise. He says:

“Our dialogue with Facebook about adopting the ClickCEOP button is well documented – today however is a good day for child protection. By adding this application, Facebook users will have direct access to the services that should provide reassurance to every parent with teenagers on the site.”

Joanna Shields, Facebook Vice President for Europe, Middle East and Asia shrugged off the defamatory claims. She says, “There is no single silver bullet to making the internet safer but by joining forces with CEOP we have developed a comprehensive solution which marries our expertise in technology with CEOP’s expertise in online safety.”

She adds further, “Nothing is more important than the safety of our users, which is why we have invested so much in making Facebook one of the safest places on the internet.”

We sure hope so. No one fancies seeing another Hall sacrificed due to Facebook’s stubborn stance against reality.

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