'Panic Button' application added to Facebook for British kids

A campaign led b the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) has led Facebook to initiate an application that is aimed at improving online safety for British children.

The application will appear on the user's profile page when they add or bookmark it, and it allows children and teenagers to report any suspicious or inappropriate behavior, reports Fox News. The application is targeted for users that are between the ages of 13 and 18. Additionally, it offers advice and support regarding staying safe online. Although it is aimed at children that reside in Britain, spokeswoman Vicky Gillings says harassment that is reported by teenagers in others countries would reported to authorities in those places. Fox News quotes Jim Gamble, chief executive of CEOP:

We know from speaking to offenders that a visible deterrent could protect young people online.

Gamble also adds that the application should provide reassurance to parents whose teenagers use the site. Following the kidnapping, rape, and murder of 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall, there was considerable pressure to implement such measures. Ashleigh had been kidnapped by a man she had met on Facebook who was posing as a teenager. Facebook's vice president for Europe, Middle East, and Africa Joanna Shields says:

Together we have developed a new way of helping young people stay safe online. It is only through the constant and concerted efforts of the industry, police, parents and young people themselves that we can all keep safe online.