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BALLOT: Does Facebook need a panic button?

11:40am Friday 19th March 2010 in


YET more pressure is being put on social networking site Facebook to install a 'panic button' on its site.

The recent case of 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall, who was brutally raped and murdered by Peter Chapman, after he befriended her over the site by pretending to be a younger boy, has brought the subject to the fore again.

But Facebook bosses have refused to install the facility, which people can use to report suspicious activity direct to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (Ceop) centre, despite it already being in use on similar sites.

Your Worcester News already has already started a debate on its own Facebook page here, but we'd like to know what our website readers think.

Lots of people seem to be calling for the button, sure, but won't it just encourage those lacking in common sense to misuse it? There's no denying that there are plenty of people on there who need to apply a little more thought sometimes...

Does the answer really lie with parents keeping a closer eye on their childrens' web use? What about better education?

Or is the button actually a very clever idea which, no matter how often it is maliciously pressed, will be vital in improving safety on the massive Facebook site?

Please take a second to vote on our poll and share your thoughts and ideas in the comment box below.

Murray Kelso Twitter butoon 291w

Comments(13)

MrStJohns says...
11:43am Fri 19 Mar 10

The question is does the world need face book? Isn’t it soon to become a payable service?

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Hawlev says...
11:49am Fri 19 Mar 10

MrStJohns facebook is a nice way of keeping in touch with friends and yes there have been rumours that it will become a payable service, I think if this happens there will be a massive drop in people using it as there are other sites etc. that people can use for free. The panic button is a good idea but it won't solve everything children need to be made aware of the dangers of becoming friends with people only via the interent and parents need to make sure that their children are using the internet safely. Many parents I know have bought their children laptops which are often taken off into bedrooms and they therefor cannot be supervised. My computer is in my living room where I can see what my daughter is doing and I also have parental controls on her computer access, until she is older I also will not let her join chatrooms.

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MrStJohns says...
11:58am Fri 19 Mar 10

Yeah I agree it is ok for keeping in contact , but what ever happened to the phone? I know im out on my own here but I just cant be bothered with facebook. if I want to talk to someone I just talk to them. I cant see how having 5 million friends on facebook is appealing. However I do see how it has good usage for promotion of events etc. I have found out about things happening in Worcester from it so I see the advantage in that instance, but as a means of talking to people its just my opinion that I cant be bothered with it that’s all.

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Tulstar says...
12:04pm Fri 19 Mar 10

I use Facebook quite a lot and it just seems to be getting more and more commercialised and pointless. When it started up, it was a great way to keep in touch with friends and find out what everyone was up to.
.
I would probably continue to use Facebook if they started charging (obviously dependent on the charge!), provided that there was an option NOT to receive updates when every Tom, Dick or Harry goes up a level on one of the pointless games that I'm not even subscribed to!

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Tulstar says...
12:05pm Fri 19 Mar 10

Oh, as for the panic button - I'm not really sure about this... Surely if such a button was placed on everyone's page, it would be open to abuse and result in a lot of wasted time and effort on behalf of CEOP who would have to investigate each instance where it was pressed?

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murray kelso says...
12:13pm Fri 19 Mar 10

Tulstar wrote:
I use Facebook quite a lot and it just seems to be getting more and more commercialised and pointless. When it started up, it was a great way to keep in touch with friends and find out what everyone was up to.
.
I would probably continue to use Facebook if they started charging (obviously dependent on the charge!), provided that there was an option NOT to receive updates when every Tom, Dick or Harry goes up a level on one of the pointless games that I'm not even subscribed to!
I use Facebook at home occasionally, but having started a page for the WN it has really opened my eyes. I'm astonished by a number of things about it - how many watch Jeremy Kyle; how many are "bord" (sic); how many are young mums; the sheer number of angry people, etc...
But the main surprise comes from how naive people are. I won't go in to detail, but not a day goes by when I'm not left shaking my head at something someone has posted. It leaves me with no doubt that a panic button will be widely misused, thereby (probably) making it totally ineffectual and a waste of everyone's time. Just my personal opinion, of course. It may not be shared by the WN...

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murray kelso says...
12:15pm Fri 19 Mar 10

I quoted Tulstar for a reason then forgot to say why.
You can 'hide' games, applications and other pointless posts if you hover over them. A button should appear with the word 'hide' in it. With 2,500 friends here it certainly helps keep me sane.

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rgdudley says...
12:56pm Fri 19 Mar 10

A panic button is pointless. If someone is worried enough to click it then they should be bright enough to stop talking to whoever they are reporting and/or delete then as a friend.
.
If they are to stupid/naive to do that then they are too stupid/naive to click a button.

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Tulstar says...
1:03pm Fri 19 Mar 10

murray kelso wrote:
I quoted Tulstar for a reason then forgot to say why.
You can 'hide' games, applications and other pointless posts if you hover over them. A button should appear with the word 'hide' in it. With 2,500 friends here it certainly helps keep me sane.
Thanks for that - I'll be doing that when I get home!!

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helen donovan says...
1:57pm Fri 19 Mar 10

I think the key with Facebook is that you have to have accepted the person as a friend in the first place to be able to talk to them.
So the emphasis should be on educating the users not to accept a request to be a "friend" under any circumstances, and not to put any personal contact details on the site.
What concerns me is the number of young children that use facebook. I work in Primary and I have seen several children of Primary age on the site. One even posted her full name and address with a photo.
(I alerted the parent).
My 14 year old daughter is allowed on facebook (My 11 year old is not), The older daughter is only allowed on the condition that I am one of her "friends", and therefore get to see everything she posts and everything that is posted to her.
I wish more parents would take the time to see what their children are posting, because it is very obvious from what I have personally witnessed that many do not even look. It worries me greatly that these young children are sitting ducks to those with perverse intentions.

Parents need to be more proactive in looking at what their children are up to, and to also take the time to talk to them about the dangers they could face if they talk to / befriend someone they don't know.

Any parent who lets a child of under 13 (as Facebook rules) use facebook is being very irresponsible.
This rule should be policed, and any parent found to have allowed their child use facebook, should be prosecuted.

"No information from children under age 13. If you are under age 13, please do not attempt to register for Facebook or provide any personal information about yourself to us. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under age 13, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we might have any information from a child under age 13, please contact us through this help page".

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helen donovan says...
2:01pm Fri 19 Mar 10

http://www.facebook.
com/policy.php

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murray kelso says...
2:09pm Fri 19 Mar 10

Helen - You do know that when posting a status you can hide it from specific friends, don't you? It's in the drop-down menu next to the padlock, below where you type the status.
I don't want to worry you or anything, but it can be done.

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helen donovan says...
2:14pm Fri 19 Mar 10

Thanks Murray, No, I didn't know that. That's worrying, I'll take a look.

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