Facebook Steps Up Security and Safety Measures
The big news at the end of last week was Facebook’s agreement/pact with 49 states and the District of Columbia to add (more than 40) new safeguards to protect young users from sexual predators and cyberbullies.
This may sound familiar, as it is the same type of agreement that MySpace made with the same state officials last January. Their action, of course, was a reluctant give-in, following months of scrutiny and subpoenas.
Regarding Facebook, the only state that once again did not sign the agreement was Texas. The state, rightly so, is looking for a better commitment and less of a publicity stunt.
There are three links to lengthy articles pasted below. Each one is a trusted source: the Associated Press, Reuters and cNet.com.
Among other changes, the site has agreed to:
- “Age-locking” of the profiles of under-18 members
- Ensure companies offering services on its site comply with its safety and privacy guidelines.
- Keep tobacco and alcohol ads from users too young to purchase those products.
- Remove groups whose comments or images suggest they may involve incest, pedophilia, bullying or other inappropriate content.
- 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.
- Send warning messages when a child is in danger of giving personal information to an adult.
- Review users’ profiles when they ask to change their age, ensuring the update is legitimate and not intended to let adults masquerade as children.
Just as with the MySpace agreement, while we commend Facebook for stepping up their security, let’s hold the rounds of applause until something is actually done. What has MySpace done in the 4-5 months since their announcement?
And no matter what these sites do, there is no substitution for the parents being involved! If parents aren’t monitoring their child’s Internet and PC activity (with awesome and powerful software like out PC Pandora), there may as well be no protections in place.
Again, we commend the social networking sites for recognizing the dangers within their communities (even f it is forced recognition), but let’s hold the applause and instead remind parents to stay on their toes. Increased safety measures are a definite plus, but no government branch or website can protect a child as good as its own parents when surfing online.
See:
Facebook, states set bullying, predator safeguards
By STEPHANIE REITZ, Associated Press
Facebook, 49 U.S. states agree on Web safety steps
By Anupreeta Das, Reuters
