Social networking sites, EU ink pact on child safety online
Seventeen Web media companies have signed an agreement with the European Commission to help assure child safety and protect kids from cyber bullying online. The companies came together in Luxembourg today in order to acknowledge their responsibility to protect users under 18 from things like cyberbullying, grooming (when an adult becomes friends with a minor with the intent of sexually abusing him or her), and other risky behavior.
The companies involved in the agreement include Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Microsoft Europe, and Yahoo!Europe, among others. As part of the "first European agreement on Social Networking," the companies have agreed to provide an easy-to-use "report abuse" button on their sites so that users can make them aware of inappropriate conduct, to ensure that the online profiles of users under 18 are set to private by default, and to make sure that private profiles of those under 18 are not searchable. The companies have also agreed that privacy options will be prominent and accessible at all times, and that they will make it difficult for those under the age of 13 to register.
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