Facebook ‘needs panic buttons for children’
Facebook has been criticised for not doing more to protect children
12 April 2012
A senior police officer has criticised Facebook and MySpace for not having panic buttons to protect children from online bullying or abuse.
Jim Gamble, head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, said there was "no legitimate reason" for the social networking sites to refuse the button which enables users to report abuse, bullying and illegal activity to the Ceop Centre in London. Bebo already has the button.
Encouraging the sites to use the free service, Mr Gamble said: "There is a responsibility, a duty of care, to the young and vulnerable." A Facebook spokesman said it had invested in a "robust reporting system" and worked with police.
