Facebook rejected the panic button, are there alternatives?

It has been plastered all over the news and pages of the web that Facebook has rejected the “panic button”. Rosie Khdir suggests that people looks for other forms of online security.

The trigger

It wasn’t until 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall was killed by a man she met on Facebook in October 2009 that people really began to argue again for the need for better online protection.

Ashleigh was murdered by serial rapist Peter Chapman after he lured her to a meeting with him after they met on the social media site.

What is a panic button?

The girls’ mother has since campaigned to get a panic button installed on the home page just like the one on Bebo.

This button would be linked to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP). It was suggested after a survey was conducted by the Anti-Bullying Alliance for last year’s National Anti-Bullying week. According to an article on the Telegraph website, the survey reported:

“More than a fifth of the 200 children aged 10 and 11 who were polled said they did know how to protect themselves against cyber bullying. More than half said that parents needed to know how to deal with it.”

In response to the call for the panic button, Richard Allan, director of policy for Facebook, said:

“Our experience of trying to put icons on the normal reporting flow is that it can reduce the number of reports.”

Is there another solution?

Children can report abuse on Facebook, and will apparently then be given a link to the CEOP, but this method is not clear and could use some elaboration.

The best thing in the meantime, until Facebook decides to up its security game, is to educate your children about the dangers online. PC Site® has guide that can help, read Your family and online security and this will give you some tips on how to stay ahead of the game.

One thing that cannot be stressed enough is the importance of antivirus protection on your computer. McAfee Family Protection is inexpensive and easy-to-use software that filters adult content, prevents contact with strangers and has a cyber bullying prevention feature.

McAfee Internet Security also has online controls to help you monitor your child’s online activities and helps prevent threats or contact with inappropriate people. Norton Internet Security is another software package with great parental controls to help protect your children from web-based threats.

The more you know about the dangers online the more prepared you will be to deal with them. For more information about the threats online check out the following PC Site® guides: How to avoid online scams, Guide to online privacy and An Introduction to Cybercrime.

Image credit: star5112