Facebook adopts new safety norms for children
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Facebook, the world's second-largest social networking website, is adding more than 40 new safeguards to protect young users from sexual predators and cyber bullies, under a latest agreement signed by officials from Washington DC and 49 states in the US.
The measures include banning convicted sex offenders from the site, limiting older users' ability to contact subscribers under 18 and participating in a task force set up in January to find ways to verify users' ages and identities. "The agreement marks another watershed step toward social networking safety, protecting kids from online predators and inappropriate content," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who announced the agreement with his counterparts in other states. A safe online experience Facebook, which has more than 70 million active users worldwide, already has enacted many of the changes and others are in the works, its officials said. "Building a safe and trusted online experience has been part of Facebook from its outset," said Chris Kelly, Facebook's chief privacy officer. Texas did not endorse the agreement or a similar one reached in January among the other states, the District of Columbia and MySpace, the world's largest online social network with 200 million users worldwide. Texas officials say they want the sites to work faster on verifying users' ages and identities. "Social networks that encourage kids to come to their sites have a responsibility to keep those kids safe," North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said. MySpace, Facebook and other online networks have created a new venue where sexual predators could lie about their age to lure young victims to chat, share images and sometimes meet in person, law enforcement officials said. The networks also have empowered cyber bullies, who have sent threatening and anonymous messages to classmates, acquaintances and other users. John Palfrey, executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, said research shows online bullies are far more common than sexual predators. Online bullying, whether through instant-message programmes or social networks, is on the rise, he said. New measures The issue has gained national attention after recent high-profile cases, including the 2006 suicide of a 13-year-old Missouri girl who was victimised by an Internet ruse. "What's going on online is not much different than bullying on the playground," Palfrey said. "It just happens to be playing out in public spaces where kids are spending a lot of time online." Facebook and MySpace let users block online bullies and others from contacting them. They also can conceal their "online now" status and use privacy controls to limit who can view their images and other measures. Among other measures, Facebook will ensure that companies offering services on its site comply with its safety and privacy guidelines. The site will remove groups whose comments or images suggest they may involve incest, paedophilia, bullying or other inappropriate content, send warning messages when a child is in danger of giving personal information to an adult and review users' profiles when they ask to change their age, ensuring the update is legitimate and not intended to let adults masquerade as children. Facebook will also participate in the Harvard-based task force set up in January under the national agreement with MySpace. It includes scholars, a prosecutor, businesses, state officials and child safety advocates. "We're entering a new era in social networking safety," Blumenthal said. "This agreement is open-ended in envisioning advances in technology that will permit even stronger steps in the future toward protecting kids' safety." Source: Indiatimes Infotech |
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