Facebook to add anti-child exploitation apps
Facebook is to offer a child safety button via a downloadable application following months of pressure from the UK’s online child safety watchdog the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) centre.
The launch of the safety feature is aimed at protecting Facebook users aged between 13 and 18 years-old and will allow them to alert authorities if they suspect they are being groomed or subjected to inappropriate sexual behaviour.
Joanna Shields, Facebook VP EMEA, said, “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.
The new ClickCEOP button can be downloaded via an application that users can add or bookmark and will be automatically advertised to all Facebook users aged between 13 and 18 according to Facebook.
Jim Gamble, CEOP CEO, said, “By adding this application, Facebook users will have direct access to all the services that sit behind our ClickCEOP button which should provide reassurance to every parent with teenagers on the site.
“We know from speaking to offenders that a visible deterrent could protect young people online. We urge all Facebook users to add the app and bookmark it so that others can see that they’re in control online.
The move comes after Facebook bolstered its online security measures in April this year when it launched a £5 million education awareness campaign following previous criticism from CEOP to add its abuse-reporting button (nma.co.uk13 April).
This story first appeared on newmediaage.co.uk
