Infinite Path

Popular social networking sites including Facebook have been heavily criticised by the head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP). The CEOP created a safety button, called a “report button”, which can be embedded free of charge on sites used regularly by children and teenagers.

The button was devised to provide vulnerable users of social networking sites with an obvious point of help in an attempt to try to neutralise the threat posed by paedophiles and online bullies. The button links through to advice sites which offer help for those who are being bullied or abused and more official help is also available with trained staff and law enforcement officers also on hand.

The potential benefits of including the button on popular sites cannot be underestimated; over the past three years, approximately 5000 investigations have been launched following information provided via the help button, and 800 arrests have been made.

Although Bebo have revealed plans to start using the button, Jim Gamble, the head of the CEOP, remains unhappy. Gamble hasn’t been afraid to voice his opinion on this, stating that: “We give them the button to put on every page. Will children be safer? Yes. If you have not got this button, the question is why not”.

The main worry that Mr Gamble and other individuals unhappy at the apparent lack of accountability that major sites seem to have, revolves around the scale of the sites that have so far refused to incorporate the button. The fact remains that some of these sites, with Facebook the obvious example, are so large and popular that it can be very difficult to get through to them and make the people who matter act on issues that are affecting the most vulnerable users of the web.