Facebook boosts net security – but falls short of panic button

Published on Tuesday 13 April 2010 22:43

SOCIAL networking site Facebook has bowed to pressure from the British child protection agency to ramp up its online security by announcing a raft of new safety measures.

Users of the site will now be able to report any unwanted or suspicious behaviour directly to child protection organisations.

The move is a direct response to mounting pressure from the UK government and parents to protect its 23 million British users.

It has now redesigned its abuse reporting system so users can alert the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) to any unwanted or inappropriate contact.

Facebook has also agreed to establish a 24-hour police hotline, dedicated to helping with emergencies, investigations and prosecutions.

However, the changes fall short of the "panic button" that police and child safety officials had been calling for and which the internet giant has been roundly criticised for refusing to install on its pages.

Jim Gamble, head of Ceop and Britain's most senior official responsible for protecting youngsters online, has been in direct negotiations with Facebook in Washington.

He said that while it had not agreed to his demands outright, the popular social networking destination was "one small step from doing the right thing".

He added: "However, the critical issue remains unresolved. We believe that, without the deterrence provided by direct visible access to the Ceop button on each and every page, children will not be appropriately empowered, parents cannot be reassured and the offender will not be deterred.

"Facebook did not say 'no' to the button. We are hopeful that, once they and their senior team in California have considered their position, they will take the critical final step to make their environment safer by adopting the direct Ceop link."

Last week, Mr Gamble revealed Facebook has never passed on a concern to British police and that complaints about the site are spiralling.

But Elliot Schrage, vice-president of global communications and public policy at Facebook, said there was "no single answer" to making the internet safer.

He said: "The investments and partnerships we've announced today – in direct reporting, in education and awareness, and in greater support for law enforcement – will transform social networking safety and security."

The new measures will include a "safety centre" to supply parents, teachers, teenagers and police with improved resources. To back up the series of initiatives, the site will invest another 5 million in education and awareness.

Safety experts hailed Facebook's new measures, which are designed to give individuals greater control of their online safety.

Stephen Balkam, chief executive of the Family Online Safety Institute, said the site was taking "a thoughtful, proactive approach to safety on the web".

"A co-ordinated approach providing the additional reporting to Ceop is clearly worthwhile, as is a dedicated phoneline for law enforcement," he said. "I firmly believe that education is key to keeping children and young people safe online and social networking sites need to show a commitment to work with both statutory and voluntary organisation to promote safety on the internet."

Raped and murdered by an online predator

ONE of the most high-profile and tragic cases in which Facebook was used by a paedophile to groom a child was that of Ashleigh Hall.

In October last year, the 17-year-old befriended what she thought was a 19-year-old called Peter Cartwright through the social networking site.

But in reality the teenager was talking to a 32-year-old man called Peter Chapman, who had a history of committing sexual assaults and rapes.

Using a photo of a handsome young man on his online profile, he managed to lure Ashleigh from her home in Darlington to meet him.

Just before going missing she told her mother that she was going to stay with a friend.

However, text messages later showed Ashleigh thought she was going to be picked up by "Peter Cartright's" father.

Chapman was jailed for life last month after he admitted her kidnap, rape and murder.