New Era In Social Networking?

Last modified on May 8th, 2008

A few months ago I talked about Megan Meier, a young girl who encountered abuse from a classmate’s mother via MySpace. That abuse eventually led to Megan committing suicide, and sparked a whole series of internet debates about where the fault for something like that lies and how accountable social networks should be for the actions of their users.

Today Facebook announced that they will be implementing over 40 safeguards to help protect its users from sexual predators and online cyberbullying:

Facebook, the world’s second-largest social networking Web site, will add more than 40 safeguards to protect young users from sexual predators and cyberbullies, attorneys general from several states said Thursday.

Facebook and officials in 49 states and the District of Columbia agree to safeguards to protect young users.

The changes include banning convicted sex offenders from the site, limiting older users’ ability to search online for subscribers under 18 and building a task force seeking ways to better verify users’ ages and identities.

“The agreement marks another watershed step toward social networking safety, protecting kids from online predators and inappropriate content,” said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who announced the agreement Thursday with his counterparts in several other states.

Obviously I think that’s a huge step forward for the internet, especially since both Facebook and MySpace have agreed to adopt the guidelines set out in the agreement. And while it’s impossible to protect everyone from harm on these networks, I definitely think it’s a move in the right direction.

43 responses to “New Era In Social Networking?”

  1. Liss says:

    how do they get around people lying about who they really are? if in most cases like these, people are assuming false identities in the first place, how do these networks know who is legit and who isn’t?

  2. Nothingman says:

    Yeah, I’m not entirely sure how this is going to work…

    “Please enter your birth date: _____________

    Are you lying? yes – no

    Are you a sex offender? yes – no

    Are you lying? yes – no”

    Don’t get me wrong, I do wish that kids were better protected on the Internet, but I think that this is more of an empty gesture that they know won’t really do anything. There is no way to verify someone’s age online. The only people that this is going to stop are the people who are motivated enough to prey on children, but not motivated enough to create a NEW profile for that purpose.

  3. Duane Storey says:

    Ya it’s hard to say at this point. They didn’t provide many details.

  4. Jon Dehm says:

    [quote comment=”52198″]Yeah, I’m not entirely sure how this is going to work…

    “Please enter your birth date: _____________

    Are you lying? yes – no

    Are you a sex offender? yes – no

    Are you lying? yes – no”[/quote]

    That’s exactly what these kinds of changes transfer to…

    “Are you over 18?”

    Jeez, you’d think a 17 year old would figure out how to step around that one…

  5. It’s definately a move in the right direction, but I agree with everyone else that people will probably lie to try and get around it. Unless they have a way of tracking the IP addresses of sex offenders or something.

  6. jamesg says:

    I just found out today that 2 grade six girls in my son’s school (he is in grade six also) actually created a msn account under another girl’s name, a coworker’s daughter, and used the account to spread vicious slander and profane emails about other kids around to the others in the school. My coworker had parents show up at his door quetioning he and his wife about their daughters actions. They discovered it was not their daughter, and called the police and school. The truth came out and these two 11 or 12 year old girls were suspended from school. My coworker checked his daughter’s contacts and congratulated me on having my son use my own msn account and the monitoring I do on his contacts and who he chats/emails with, he was and is now going to frequently check his daughters contacts/emails as well.

    what a rude awakening

  7. Duane Storey says:

    Part of the problem is that it’s simply too easy to acquire email addresses these days. Not that long ago, you basically could only get an email address through your ISP. If your kids wanted one, as a parent you had to set it up for them. Nowadays there’s basically nothing stopping anyone from having multiple email addresses and/or internet identities.

    There’s growing movement on the internet to solve what’s known as the identity problem. That is, how do you actually prove duane@matthewgood.org is the real Duane Storey that lives in Vancouver and eats nachos frequently? It’s a really hard problem, but there’s progress on it, and someday it might be possible to limit people on websites based on them having a real-world, accountable identity.

    An example of a fairly successful identify system is OpenID

  8. T-Lee says:

    Wow, I’m stuck on the sex offender thing…… I mean, why would someone say who they are, if they’ve committed a crime..?

    I used to get annoyed at my niece for putting her actual birthdate on nexopia but now I guess it’s probably a good idea, on facebook anyways…….. .. why isn’t nexopia getting onboard with this, too?

  9. I can say with complete certainty that this post was NOT written by the Duane Storey who eats nachos daily… however, I cannot vouch for the one who drinks beer daily…

  10. As much as there are going to be too many ways to side step the new security measures no mater how fool proof they try to make them, you do have to give them credit for stepping up to plate and doing what they can to keep kids safe.

  11. Dana says:

    In theroy this is a great idea, but in reality (and i hope that i am wrong) i don’t think that this is going to work. Predators are not as stupid as we think, they will just start creating profiles with younger information to still be able to prey on the innocent.
    Both my kids have profiles on Myspace and Facebook and I am on their sites daily to check the content and the friends that they have, and thank god both kids are old enough to know that if you or I don’t know then don’t add them….fingers crossed that they stay internet smart…but i send them to enough seminars held by the OPP for them to know what can actually happen to them.

  12. seriousbusiness says:

    I totally agree with the identity issue and the need to get a comprehensive and easily accessible ‘real’ ID system. Anonymity should be on the way out. People should be held accountable for their actions online as in the real world. Full details should be disclosed to sites and companies so they may be sure who people are and be prepared for any legal situation that could arise. Having companies and governments, and even other individuals, know our true identity, would genuinely be for the best. If you wouldn’t do it in the physical world, neither should you in the digital. This is not as silly as it sounds and is only a small step ahead of they point we are already at – you ‘have little true privacy as is.

  13. Anton says:

    It was a lot “safer” when Facebook was restricted to college/university students. At least then you could just limit it to the creepy sexual predators from your school.

  14. patrick.lortie says:

    It was a lot safer when they had internet on cereal boxes rather than computers.

  15. Brent says:

    Every day I’m given another reason not to have children.

  16. silly girl says:

    Am I the only one who thinks the parent’s are part of the problem?? I have Net Nanny on both my children’s computers… there is no way they would get away with much in my house. Maybe a few parents should update their computer/technical skills and protect their own children from predators and/or prevent their own children from using these programs to cyberbully (at least in their own home). I know where my kid is in Cyberspace, do you?

  17. Daver37 says:

    The other day a friend and I were discussing how we wish facebook would revert back to how it used to be……. a site for college/university students. That’s how it was originally. That would eliminate the predators seeking young children.
    Just a thought.

  18. KET says:

    [quote comment=”52222″]Am I the only one who thinks the parent’s are part of the problem?? I have Net Nanny on both my children’s computers… there is no way they would get away with much in my house. Maybe a few parents should update their computer/technical skills and protect their own children from predators and/or prevent their own children from using these programs to cyberbully (at least in their own home). I know where my kid is in Cyberspace, do you?[/quote]
    I think this is a fair point, in that parents should be as vigilant as possible, but the reality is kids are, as a general rule, ten times as tech savvy as their folks. There are always ways around restrictions.

    The other thing is, well, if your kid is ‘online friends’ with a bunch of girls at her school, that all might seem acceptable and innocent enough… but that’s usually where the cyberbullying starts.

    This topic scares the bejebus out of me, to be honest. I went through hell in high school, and that was just through the old-fashioned rumour mill and whispers in the halls and “ignoring” campaigns. To think of what’s possible today– yikes.

  19. Tuuli22 says:

    That’s in fact a shocking story. I made my experiences of a similar sort on facebook but got rid of the mad person by deleting him from my friend’s list. I think myspace is insofar safer than facebook as it offers the user the possibility to keep their profiles completely inaccessible to others and make themselves available only to friends. Theres too many extra-functions on facebook I think that might help stalkers to circumvent protective measures.

  20. revisited says:

    Am I the only one who wondered which assbag state was the one out of fifty that didn’t to the safeguards?

  21. revisited says:

    *didn’t AGREE to*

    (EDIT FUNCTION, ALREADY.)

  22. angelboo says:

    One of the only ways to eliminate false identification and keep people honest is to make them “jump through hoops” if they want something. If all sites were to adopt a policy in which a user needed multiple forms of identification to prove who they are, there would be fewer predators, as they would not be allowed to hide their identification.

    Example:

    Each user must have at least 2 forms of ID. The first ID would be a Government ID (Drivers License, Social Security Number) Second Identification would be a Bill in your name, Credit Card information, Checking account Routing numbers, Employment Verification etc. thus forcing individuals to prove who they, not allowing those who prey on the innocent any form of leeway in hiding who they are.

    Parents would have to be responsible for their children’s actions as they would have to supply their information along with their child’s Government issued ID to sign up for sites. Allowing parents to know where their children are and what they are doing online, also allowing the parents to create a password that the child cannot change, for monitoring/safety purposes. .

    I can hear the grumblings now, yes more time consuming, but less to worry about in the future.

    Really, how else are we going to be able to force individuals to be honest? There is no other way, in order to make individuals responsible for their actions and to have to face any repercussions for those actions we have to make them “jump through hoops”.

    When you sign up for a credit card you have to have proper identification right? Prove who you are. Why can’t we use those same tools for all sites? Why should a child be able to decide what sites they can go to and login to?

    I know this is a far off solution, but in this day in age some individuals (including children/teenagers) have to know they are being “watched” to keep them honest.

  23. silly girl says:

    [quote comment=”52225″]That’s in fact a shocking story. I made my experiences of a similar sort on facebook but got rid of the mad person by deleting him from my friend’s list. I think myspace is insofar safer than facebook as it offers the user the possibility to keep their profiles completely inaccessible to others and make themselves available only to friends. Theres too many extra-functions on facebook I think that might help stalkers to circumvent protective measures.[/quote]

    My facebook profile is hidden- and you can’t add me as a friend, only request that I add you as a friend…you can change your privacy settings to only be accessible to friends. You can also make it so your profile/name cannot be searched for…its all available!

    Also- I can monitor what my child is writing to others on any website AND what they are saying to my child. He does talk to his friends online and I am aware of what goes on…I can also keep the advertisements on websites from showing up– therefore keeping the kids on the site I’ve allowed them to be a part of. It’s all about knowing where your kids are, whether online or off. Maybe someone should offer parent education to update people on new tools to keep their kids safe online. You monitor you kids at the playground, monitor them on the computer!

    Once again– I know where my kids are in CyberSpace, do you?

  24. Tuuli22 says:

    [quote comment=”52230″][quote comment=”52225″]That’s in fact a shocking story. I made my experiences of a similar sort on facebook but got rid of the mad person by deleting him from my friend’s list. I think myspace is insofar safer than facebook as it offers the user the possibility to keep their profiles completely inaccessible to others and make themselves available only to friends. Theres too many extra-functions on facebook I think that might help stalkers to circumvent protective measures.[/quote]

    My facebook profile is hidden- and you can’t add me as a friend, only request that I add you as a friend…you can change your privacy settings to only be accessible to friends. You can also make it so your profile/name cannot be searched for…its all available![/quote]

    I did not claim facebook to not have any security measures at all. But it is for ex. possible to contact people who are not your friends via functions like “are you interested” and the only thing you can do about that is to block them and hope they won’t launch a new account. You also hand your email adress to strangers whenever you allow one of the various applications on your profile. Basically you’re risking your personal peace of mind every time you try one of these funny little toys on facebook.

    I personally try to keep the dimensions of my internet-activities as narrow as possible. I do facebook and myspace and post on some few selected blogspots. I don’t acutally have kids but if I did I’d keep them as much away from computers in general as possible.

    Quote: Also- I can monitor what my child is writing to others on any website AND what they are saying to my child. He does talk to his friends online and I am aware of what goes on..

    If this is ok to you – be it. I personally think it makes more sense to tell Kids about the threats they are exposed to while using the internet making them stable against whatever such things might occur rather than spying on every single step they do online while they don’t even know.

    Cases like the one mentioned in the article show that we are far away from the internet being a safe place for kids. We had cases of paedophiles invading forums of kids-magazines here in germany not long ago. You might do a good job in monitoring your kids’ online activities but not every family has the time the money or just the knowledge to do so. And that means that there are some improvements to be reached.

  25. revisited says:

    Ultimately, both sides need to be addressed. Parents need to be responsible, and websites need to be responsible. We expect a parent at a playground to monitor their kids and make sure they’re engaging in safe behaviors… but we also expect the manufacturer of the playground equipment to make sure that their equipment meets certain safety standards, too. The same rules should apply in the online playground.

  26. silly girl says:

    [quote comment=”52233″][quote comment=”52230″][quote comment=”52225″] I don’t acutally have kids but if I did I’d keep them as much away from computers in general as possible.

    Quote: Also- I can monitor what my child is writing to others on any website AND what they are saying to my child. He does talk to his friends online and I am aware of what goes on..

    If this is ok to you – be it. I personally think it makes more sense to tell Kids about the threats they are exposed to while using the internet making them stable against whatever such things might occur rather than spying on every single step they do online while they don’t even know.

    .[/quote]

    I do educate my children on the dangers of being online. And I agree they need to know what to do if we aren’t there, BUT I want to know who is talking to my 12 year old. I don’t spend hours watching his every move, but I do know where he’s been, who he’s talking to. I wasn’t attacking you by the way, just merely mentioning that as parents we need to take the time to educate ourselves regarding new technology. It has nothing to do with money or knowledge. If I’ve got the money to be online, then I guess I better front the money to keep my kids safe online. Pennies a day and a bit of reading for me. Keeping our children away from computers is not the answer, computers are a way of life and that is not going to change.

    I do agree Facebook has some hidden dangers. There are always improvements needed!

  27. Tuuli22 says:

    [quote comment=”52235″][quote comment=”52233″][quote comment=”52230″][quote comment=”52225″] I don’t acutally have kids but if I did I’d keep them as much away from computers in general as possible.

    Quote: Also- I can monitor what my child is writing to others on any website AND what they are saying to my child. He does talk to his friends online and I am aware of what goes on..

    If this is ok to you – be it. I personally think it makes more sense to tell Kids about the threats they are exposed to while using the internet making them stable against whatever such things might occur rather than spying on every single step they do online while they don’t even know.

    .[/quote]

    I do educate my children on the dangers of being online. And I agree they need to know what to do if we aren’t there, BUT I want to know who is talking to my 12 year old. I don’t spend hours watching his every move, but I do know where he’s been, who he’s talking to. I wasn’t attacking you by the way, just merely mentioning that as parents we need to take the time to educate ourselves regarding new technology. It has nothing to do with money or knowledge. If I’ve got the money to be online, then I guess I better front the money to keep my kids safe online. Pennies a day and a bit of reading for me. Keeping our children away from computers is not the answer, computers are a way of life and that is not going to change.

    I do agree Facebook has some hidden dangers. There are always improvements needed![/quote]

    I agree with you in most of what you said. But one should assume that in majority people aren’t that smart and common-sense. Too often parents downright ‘park’ their kids in front of the pc to keep them calm. Kids waking up, communicating with friends and going to bed with the pc is reality.

    Oh I never felt like you would attack me or something, everything fine 😉

  28. Tuuli22 says:

    @silly girl:

    I did not mean to be harsh or something.
    It’s just that I don’t find the right words and expressions sometimes as I am no native speaker. So maybe I sound a bit awkward, sorry for that.

  29. Nothingman says:

    [quote comment=”52222″]Am I the only one who thinks the parent’s are part of the problem?? I have Net Nanny on both my children’s computers… there is no way they would get away with much in my house. Maybe a few parents should update their computer/technical skills and protect their own children from predators and/or prevent their own children from using these programs to cyberbully (at least in their own home). I know where my kid is in Cyberspace, do you?[/quote]

    I personally don’t think that parents are to blame as much as some people think. Yes, it is a parent’s responsibility to teach their children that you don’t talk to a stranger in the park, just like it is their responsibility to teach them not to be wary of anything that they encounter online. Compare it to going to the park with some friends. Yes, when they’re very young, you walk over with them and watch them as they play. By the time they’re twelve though (and perhaps this only applies to small city settings like the one I grew up in), I should hope that they’re not under constant supervision. They’re coming to an important age in establishing independence and individuality and I personally think that some privacy is important. Would they be safer under constant supervision? Yes, in the same way they that we’d all be safer with constant supervision.

    Growing up, I did all sorts of stuff on the internet that I’m sure my mother wouldn’t have approved of. I talked to strangers, I visited all sorts of adult websites (and I don’t just mean porn), but I never had any dangerous experiences. I was taught to recognize a dangerous situation in real life, and that knowledge transfers easily to the internet. My mother occasionally said that she would start monitoring my online activities, and all that did was put a huge trust rift in our relationship. And I’ll admit that the biggest flaw in my beliefs are determining at what age they start getting online freedom, and in what increments it is given to them.

    I don’t want this to seem like an attack on your opinions, because I do respect them. I don’t have children of my own yet, so it may turn out that my philosophy doesn’t work at all. I was also brought up in a relatively small city, and my opinions probably reflect that (there wasn’t too much concern about sexual predators growing up). I’ve just always thought of the net nanny as an invasion of privacy. Reflecting on that, I concede that it probably is very useful for younger children. Determining at what age it should be removed is a completely subjective decision based on the maturity of the child and the trust between them and the parents. Perhaps when I have my own children, I will support the idea of having it at older ages.

  30. polarbear says:

    My neice was bullied on her my space page from girls she knew from school that she thought were her friends. I think it all stemmed from jealousy. She is a beautiful girl. Then, in school one day someone make fun of her for not having a mother.That was beyond cruel!! Losing her mother to cancer at a pivotal time in her life was devastating enough. In addition to that, my brother and his 5 kids moved from Michagan, to Pa. to be closer to family, so we could help out. This was another trauma she had to face, leaving the comfort of the home she grew up in, and all of her friends. All of this stress she was under make her very depressed. I got a call one day from school because she was having thoughts of hurting herself. She was already in therapy at the time due to losing her mother. I picked her up and took her straight to her psychologist. Thank God that nothing serious happened.

  31. deb says:

    Silly girl…as a mother, I agree to some extent in what you’re saying. But there’s a flipside…the side that says you can’t be there to protect your children all the time and eventually they’re going to grow up and have to fly it alone. Have you given them the necessary skills to do so or just sheltered them and kept the bad guys out? I recently was guilty of doing the same when my daughter was being steered in the direction of a school that had a “rough” reputation. It dealt with kids who were struggling in mainstream education and I was resistant to send her there in my bid to “protect” her. Then she summed it up quite nicely for me…”Mom, I have to deal with these people every weekend when I’m out there”. True enough. It’s been the best school she’s ever attended.

    I don’t feel the need to check on my children’s activities on the internet…that being said, they’re both older now and no longer “kids”. But what I’ve opted to do is to arm them with the knowledge of how to protect themselves vs ME protecting them – things like identifying warning signs, avoiding situations that they get a bad feeling about, etc. To use their instincts AND what they’ve been taught to steer clear of bad situations. And I just got a big sign that they’re o.k. with this when my daughter questioned my going to meet a (female) friend who I’d met on the internet and had known for awhile. “Mom, how do you KNOW that this person is who they really say they are?”.

    As for bullying….again, it’s a tough thing to deal with (been there, done that too). There is no simple solution and it’s a definite problem, not only online but out there in the real world too.

  32. deb says:

    [quote comment=”52241″]My neice was bullied on her my space page from girls she knew from school that she thought were her friends. I think it all stemmed from jealousy. She is a beautiful girl. Then, in school one day someone make fun of her for not having a mother.That was beyond cruel!! Losing her mother to cancer at a pivotal time in her life was devastating enough. In addition to that, my brother and his 5 kids moved from Michagan, to Pa. to be closer to family, so we could help out. This was another trauma she had to face, leaving the comfort of the home she grew up in, and all of her friends. All of this stress she was under make her very depressed. I got a call one day from school because she was having thoughts of hurting herself. She was already in therapy at the time due to losing her mother. I picked her up and took her straight to her psychologist. Thank God that nothing serious happened.[/quote]
    [quote comment=”52241″]My neice was bullied on her my space page from girls she knew from school that she thought were her friends. I think it all stemmed from jealousy. She is a beautiful girl. Then, in school one day someone make fun of her for not having a mother.That was beyond cruel!! Losing her mother to cancer at a pivotal time in her life was devastating enough. In addition to that, my brother and his 5 kids moved from Michagan, to Pa. to be closer to family, so we could help out. This was another trauma she had to face, leaving the comfort of the home she grew up in, and all of her friends. All of this stress she was under make her very depressed. I got a call one day from school because she was having thoughts of hurting herself. She was already in therapy at the time due to losing her mother. I picked her up and took her straight to her psychologist. Thank God that nothing serious happened.[/quote]
    [quote comment=”52241″]My neice was bullied on her my space page from girls she knew from school that she thought were her friends. I think it all stemmed from jealousy. She is a beautiful girl. Then, in school one day someone make fun of her for not having a mother.That was beyond cruel!! Losing her mother to cancer at a pivotal time in her life was devastating enough. In addition to that, my brother and his 5 kids moved from Michagan, to Pa. to be closer to family, so we could help out. This was another trauma she had to face, leaving the comfort of the home she grew up in, and all of her friends. All of this stress she was under make her very depressed. I got a call one day from school because she was having thoughts of hurting herself. She was already in therapy at the time due to losing her mother. I picked her up and took her straight to her psychologist. Thank God that nothing serious happened.[/quote]

    Polar Bear…I hadn’t read your comment before I posted. Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot we can do about some people’s cruelty and it’s SO hurtful when it’s directed at kids. It sounds similar to what drove my daughter out of the mainstream school system to begin with….it often IS jealousy and the kids throwing daggers have their own issues of self esteem, etc. It’s truly sad that bullying like this happens because it has a really serious effect on those at the receiving end.

    Good for you for getting your niece some additional help. And all the love in the world sent out to her…what an excruciatingly painful time it must be for her. Hopefully she gets through all this o.k.

  33. deb says:

    lol…well that was strange?!

    Sorry about the triple quote. Don’t quite know how that happened.

  34. deb says:

    and I must add that I’d somehow also missed nothingman’s comment…which had already covered the points I’ve made and was pretty much in line with my thinking. Well said nothingman!

  35. KET says:

    [quote comment=”52247″]
    Polar Bear…I hadn’t read your comment before I posted. Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot we can do about some people’s cruelty and it’s SO hurtful when it’s directed at kids. It sounds similar to what drove my daughter out of the mainstream school system to begin with….it often IS jealousy and the kids throwing daggers have their own issues of self esteem, etc. It’s truly sad that bullying like this happens because it has a really serious effect on those at the receiving end.
    [/quote]
    Hell, I’m 31 years old and have had a hard time dealing with some of the nasty people you find online. I’m talking extreme ugliness, about a thousand times worse than anything I ever encountered in high school. If I was, say, 14 and dealing with this….. whoooo boy.

    As we all know, something about the relative anonymity of being online (even when posting under your own identity) makes people say things they would never dream of saying to a person’s face. It amps the asshole factor up big-time. And, yeah, when it’s directed at kids just discovering themselves… it can have devastating, long-term effects.

    I worry that kids who are brought up exposed to this sort of thing– who regularly hang out on Myspace, for instance, without adequate supervision– are going to think that sort of behaviour and attitude is normal and acceptable even in real-life, that they’ll lose (or never develop) the sense of empathy and mutual respect that helps people act civilly towards each other.

  36. helz says:

    [quote comment=”52226″]Am I the only one who wondered which assbag state was the one out of fifty that didn’t to the safeguards?[/quote]

    i thought the same.

  37. Duane Storey says:

    Actually, I think it was Texas, and it was because they thought the measures weren’t aggressive enough. They are actually advocating for even more changes.

  38. silly girl says:

    Okay- just to clarify… I don’t monitor my children 24/7…I do talk to them about the dangers online…I do know where they go…they are prepared. I block bad advertisments marked as “gambling, porn, and mature”. My only point was that parents can learn the ins and outs of the “computer” and “internet” and prepare our kids, instead of sending them out there alone….but when they do confront trouble they know where to come for shelter…

  39. silly girl says:

    [quote comment=”52234″]Ultimately, both sides need to be addressed. Parents need to be responsible, and websites need to be responsible. We expect a parent at a playground to monitor their kids and make sure they’re engaging in safe behaviors… but we also expect the manufacturer of the playground equipment to make sure that their equipment meets certain safety standards, too. The same rules should apply in the online playground.[/quote]

    Thank u for explaining better than I.

  40. deb says:

    Great points! It is a two way street for sure.

  41. Con says:

    Definitely a step in the right direction on the part of MySpace and Facebook, but yes, how to solve the problem of lying about age, etcetera… On another site I’m a member of, I logged in and discovered a surprise age verification page. I was required to re-confirm my age before I could access the rest of the site… I suppose if someone lied about their age the first time, they may have forgotten, and anything different than what’s on record will seem suspicious and result in the account being perma-banned…

    On a related note, some of the worst stuff I’ve seen (and I’ve been to some dark corners of the internet) has been found on a particular site geared specifically towards kids and teens 13 and up.. I probably shouldn’t name names, but for example, forum threads titled “yeah mum, he totally fingered me” or “is pedophilia on the same grounds as zoophilia”… Even screen captures of users deliberately enticing suspected pedophiles in chatrooms for fun… Things that thirteen-year-olds really don’t need to be exposed to…

    My point is that as a regular (obsessive?) Facebook user, I’ve never encountered anything so inappropriate. I don’t deny that sexual predation and cyberbullying occur on Facebook or MySpace, but for any parents out there, keep a close eye on those sites designed for kids and teens too, no matter how tame the login page seems…

  42. mark g says:

    I can see a big problem arising about the ability to restrict people’s searching for youth under the age of 18. Most children’s parents are usually over the age of 18, and most kid are under that age. This could actually hinder the ability of parent’s being able to check on their children’s behaviour.

    My solution: Only allow children under the age of 18 access to facebook if they have another parent or guardian on as well to guarantee that they are being watched over. Along the way, facebook can send reports to the parents to help them look over their children’s behaviour.

    I can already see the way children would find their way around this, but it will give their parents a greater ability in most cases to control and teach their children good values.

  43. Lexy says:

    This sort of thing is difficult to control, but at least steps are being taken to find the best way to protect people.
    Especially kids.

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