Facebook’s Statement on New Safety Agreement
Thought I’d do a quick follow-up to Monday’s post: Facebook Steps Up Security and Safety Measures.
This comes straight from Facebook, but was printed in the LA Times. It’s a bulleted list of plans included in the new safety agreement. Check it out, but remember: “Only you can prevent forest fires”… translation: “Only parents can truly protect their kids online.” Thankfully there is killer monitoring software like our PC Pandora to help get the job done easily and effectively.
Facebook’s statement on its new safety agreement
What has Facebook agreed to as part of this document?
- Building a safe and trusted online experience has been part of Facebook from its outset.
- Facebook is joining 49 states and D.C. in affirming our commitment to these safety principles and to continue improving our tech and policy solutions to keep kids safer.
- We agreed to continue and enhance a number of protections deployed on the site centered around inappropriate conduct and content.
- Facebook affirms its present participation on the Internet Safety Task Force that was part of MySpace’s agreement with the attorneys general.
- Facebook is making specific commitments around “age locking” of under-18 profiles.
What are these features specifically?
The following is a list of safety features and privacy initiatives that Facebook will continue and enhance under the agreement:
- Age and identity identification tools
- Automatic warning messages when a child is in danger of giving personal information to an unknown adult
- Restricting the ability of users to change their listed ages
- Aggressive response to remove inappropriate content and groups from the site
- Safety and privacy guidelines that third-party vendors and developers are required to adhere to as part of Facebook’s Terms of Service
- Immediate severance of links to pornographic websites
- Immediate removal of Facebook Groups dedicated to incest, pedophilia, cyber-bullying and other topics that violate Facebook’s Terms of Services
- Immediate investigation of Facebook users who violate the Terms of Service, and expulsion of those individuals that violate the safety or privacy of other users
- Prominent display of privacy information and safety tips
- Require users under 18 to affirm they have read Facebook’s safety tips when they sign up
- Review models for abuse reporting and perform a test using the New Jersey attorney general’s abuse reporting icon
Are any other social networks (such as MySpace) involved in this agreement?
MySpace is not part of this agreement.
Is this similar to the agreement with AG Cuomo from last fall?
- This is a joint effort that Facebook has been working on with the multistate group for quite some time now, and Attorney General Cuomo has signed on to the agreement.
- Facebook already implements most of the enhancements that are part of this agreement.
- Our cooperative relationship with the attorneys general is long-standing and will continue indefinitely.
May 27th, 2008 at 3:42 AM
Kudos to Facebook for the right step forward. While the total measures may turn out to be ineffective in the face of current child predators, it certainly is a step in the right direction
May 27th, 2008 at 4:30 AM
Great going Facebook. Hopefully this would inspire Myspace to come up and rectify it’s act.
June 1st, 2008 at 3:12 AM
A few days ago, I happened to read a press release about this very subject, and I agree with the comments made by James Leasure, President and Co-Founder of PC Pandora. He felt that this is a commendable announcement but, will it only be lip service in the end?
We look forward to their success and hope others will follow.
We would like to have Facebook become a “Responsible CyberCitizen” it’s what will effect change, like our Responsible CyberCitizen PC Pandora.
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