Social Networks: Facebook Rejects Child Safety Organization’s Request For Panic Button

Last week, ABC News’ Nightline aired a story about the “dark side” of Facebook, and covered various crime stories relating to the social networking giant.  One such case is the murder of British teenager Ashleigh Hall who was raped and murdered by a 33-year-old convicted sex rapist posing as a 16-year-old boy who she met on Facebook.

As a result of this crime and others, Britain started an organization called Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOPS).  The organization says they received 253 complaints about Facebook in their 1^st quarter alone, 39% of which involves kids being groomed by pedophiles.

CEOPS asked Facebook for a “panic” button to be placed on every profile page to help link teens directly to the safety page, which otherwise takes several clicks to access. Facebook has thus far denied the request. Other websites such as AOL and MSN have instituted the button.

To view ABC News/ Nightline’s story, click here.