“No straightforward way” to stop under 13’s joining up says Facebook
Facebook is a great social network. Alongside other sites like Myspace and Bebo, it allows us to keep in touch with our friends and relatives both at home and abroad, find and reconnect with classmates and old work colleagues we’ve lost contact with, and businesses can connect with their customers in a way that they’ve never been able to before.
Unfortunately, as with any socially connected technology, it can also provide a public stage for those with extreme and socially offensive viewpoints to reach a wider audience and influence them under the pretext of “free speech”, as well as an opportunity for online predators to contact, groom and eventually meet their victims, as was tragically demonstrated by the case of 17 year old Ashleigh Hall, abducted and murdered by a 33 year old serial rapist who posed as a teenage DJ on Facebook to lure Ashleigh into meeting him “in real life”.
Charles Conway, the editor of Scam Detectives, recently spent an evening with a group of parents at a North Wales primary school who were concerned about their children’s online activities and wanted to know how to keep them safe online.
One of the questions asked by parents at the event was this:
“Why is it so easy for kids under the age of 13 to create a profile on Facebook, even though they’re supposed to be 13 or over to join?”
According to OFCOM’s annual “Children’s Media Literacy Report” 25% of children aged between 8 and 12 have a profile on social networking sites Facebook, Myspace and Bebo despite the sites imposing a “no under 13’s” rule.
These kids are not only exposed to the risk of contact from online predators, cyberbullies and fake “celebrities”, but they also have unrestricted access to pages and groups that promote illegal and unhealthy activities as acceptable, rebellious, desirable and fun.
Facebook “Values free speech”
Anyone can create a fan page or group on Facebook to promote their business, charity, hobby or interest, and there is no moderation in place to ensure that the site complies with Facebook’s terms of service before they go live.Once a user joins such a group, they give the creator of the group the ability to send them private messages through the site, which again are unmoderated and uncontrolled and can contain links to external websites, photographs and videos. There are no controls to ensure that inappropriate language is censored or that inappropriate images are blocked.
We found Facebook pages dedicated to (among other topics), advocating the use of illegal drugs, underage drinking, anorexia as a healthy and desirable lifestyle and “sending muslims home”.
When we asked them about these pages, a Facebook spokesperson said:
“Facebook values free speech and enables people to express their feelings about a multitude of topics, even some that others may find distasteful or ignorant. However, when these feelings violate our terms, they will be removed once reported to us.”
Kids “rewarded for contacting strangers”
Games such as “Pet Society” can also present dangers to our kids when using the site. Apart from the privacy concerns of such applications using our kids data to present targetted advertising and invitations to join groups related to their interests, these “cute” games (where users care for a ‘virtual pet’ in cyberspace) encourage interaction with strangers.
Users are encouraged to take their ‘Pets’ to a virtual Cafe, go back to each others ‘houses’ and give gifts to each other pets, which are accompanied by unmoderated and uncensored messages. Each pets house contains a link to it’s owner’s profile, so connecting with the real life person behind the ‘pet’ is further encouraged. Giving gifts and visiting other pets is rewarded with coins which can be spent on game upgrades.
Our kids know not to go with a stranger to their house to see “fluffy little kittens” or “cute little puppies” but by hosting this application on the website, Facebook actually rewards them for doing exactly that. As grownups, we take responsibility for our own actions and know the risks of contact with strangers. Kids only see the cute little fluffy pets, not the potential for abuse that lies behind them.
“No straightforward way to get proof of age”
Creating a Facebook account is easy, requiring only a valid email address. Anyone who can count back 13 from the current year can create an account and start adding their friends, joining groups and playing games with strangers immediately.
Facebook agreed to answer a couple of questions about their policy on underage users and how they enforce the “no under 13’s” rule.
Bearing in mind that pages and groups exist which (among other undesirable topics) advocate the use of illegal drugs, underage drinking, anorexia as a healthy and desirable lifestyle and “sending muslims home”, does Facebook have plans to introduce meaningful age verification systems to ensure that children are unable to access the site?
The Facebook spokesperson replied:
“When users sign up to Facebook, they agree to use the site according to our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. One of these terms states that users must be over the age of 13 when they join the site and we encourage people to report anyone they think is violating this. They can either do this through the report links on that person’s profile or through the form in our help centre. Anyone that is using the site under the age of 13, as well as users or content that violate any other terms of use, will be removed from the site when reported to us.”
“We have a lot of resources available on our newly redesigned Safety Centre and we have recently invested in a £5 million safety campaign to promote safe interaction online. On Facebook, we also have reporting tools across the site and our users can and do report questionable or offensive content, such as underage users, illegal substances and self harm. We feel we have created one of the safest environments on the web and having the tools to report content and block people gives users far more control over what they are exposed to than over the wider web where no such controls exist.”
If so, how will this be achieved, and if not, why not?
“There is no straightforward way to get proof of age across the web. For young people in particular, it is important that teachers, parents, educators and web services work together to help keep young people safe online and we will continue to invest in tools to keep our users safe. People don’t need to provide proof of age to sign up for a free email address, to buy a pay as you go mobile phone or to register for numerous other services across the internet so this issue is not unique to Facebook. However, the robust reporting infrastructure we have in place on Facebook means that any content that our 400 million active users see that they find offensive or questionable can be reported to us from every page on the site. The trained team of reviewers will then review each report to remove anything that violates our terms. “
So you can report an underage user to Facebook and they’ll remove their profile. That’s great, but what’s to stop them from signing up again within minutes of their profile being deleted? Nothing at all (except a clause in their terms and conditions that says they shouldn’t.)
You can report an offensive group or fan page and it’ll be deleted. Fantastic, but what’s to stop them starting up a similar group immediately? Nothing.
A website like Facebook cannot rely upon it’s user base to police the site for them. By opening their doors to 400 million users they must take at least some responsibility for the safety of those users, including those that seek to circumvent the rules by signing up when they shouldn’t.
The “Honour system” is just not good enough
It is not enough to have a clause in your terms and conditions which simply says “You will not use Facebook if you are under 13″.
Imagine a similar system in pubs and off licenses -”Bottle of vodka please”, “Have you got any ID?”, “No, but I’m 18, honest”, “What’s your date of birth then?”, “erm, what year is it now.. (counts back on fingers)…. erm…. 23rd May 1992?” “Oh, Ok then, that’ll be £15″
Wherever there are rules in place to protect children from inappropriate content or contact, there must be appropriate measures to enforce those rules. Without those measures, the rules are meaningless. Not providing these measures because there’s “no straightforward way” of doing so is a copout. Child protection is not straightforward, but Facebook has generated enough revenue to invest in developing a way, straightforward or otherwise.
“No reason why Facebook could not implement this technology”
We approached online verification service provider NetIDMe to get their reaction to Facebook’s assertion that the technology for “straightforward” age verification doesn’t exist. Founder and CEO of NetIDMe Alex Hewitt told us:
“….we already provide this type of verification service for Social Networking Sites who either only accept minors or wish to prevent minors accessing their site. I do not agree with the comment that there is no straightforward way to get proof of age across the web, indeed the remote gambling industry is required by law in the UK to ensure that users are over 18 when they register and this has been in place for a number of years now. I also see no reason why Facebook could not implement this type of technology.”
Access should be restricted to over 18’s
Alex D, a Scam Detectives reader, said:
As a Foster Carer I know of many occasions where Facebook has been a gateway for abuse and unwanted contact. [Facebook users] should be over 18 with proof of id required to stop fake profiles.
Our appeal to Facebook
At Scam Detectives we believe that even one child hurt, abused or worse because of inadequate measures to prove the age and identity of Facebook users is one too many. We call upon Facebook to implement a MEANINGFUL method of protecting underage kids from inappropriate content, inappropriate contact and real physical danger. Now.
Have your say:
Is Facebook doing enough to stop underage kids from using their website? Should they increase the age limit to “adults only”? Leave us a comment below….
Tags: facebook, Online Safety
I guess this comes to parent responsiblity. If you are going to leave a 13 year old alone with a computer demand thier password, after all you would’nt leave your child in a room full of strangers would you?
Another option might be for Facebook to use a credit/debit card, scheme, where a small fee is taken from the card, and you then have to complete the registration by entering the amount debited – 1.03p This works in a simiar way to Paypal.
I believe it’s up to parents to censor the online activities of their children, not the websites. Children under 13 shouldn’t be on the internet unattended anyway.
My child (under 13) cannot get onto the internet without me entering a password and I sit and surf with him the entire time. I am aware of what information is available about him on his profiles, and that teach him about safe surfing and what NOT to post as we go and why.
Teaching safe web practices to your child is another safety lesson parents should teach their children. It’s nice that sites like Facebook are committed to providing information to this effect, but ultimatley it is my responsibility to monitor my child’s web useage and teach him how to be safe online, not Facebook’s.
Parents also should not expect websites to police the activities of their children online; instead they should take responsibility for their childrens’ online safety themselves. Parents should not blame Facebook if their 10 year old opened an account without their knowledge and didn’t prevent it from happening with spohisticated authentication systems, instead they should ask themselves what they were doing when their child was surfing the net unsupervised.
I completely agree that parents have a responsibility to police what their children are doing online, and fully advocate education as a tool to promote online safety (which is why we regularly talk to parents about how they can work with their kids to keep them safe online) but what about when they’re not at home?
Kids will get online at libraries, cybercafes, at school and at friends houses and it’s virtually impossible to control what they do or where they visit online at these locations.
You may be 100% certain of what your kids do at home, but do your kids friends parents take similar precautions or put controls in place to make sure their kids (and yours) are not seeing this content or chatting with strangers?
That’s why we believe that sites like Facebook have at least equal responsibility to ensure that those who are underage cannot access the content on their websites.
If Facebook is going to trumpet their belief in “Free Speech” as a reason for allowing objectionable content to be published on their website then they have to accept that responsibility.
On Twitter, @hywel said: “MJ717 is spot on. I didn’t have Scam Detectives down as as Mary Whitehouse-like censors. I’m disappointed. Bandwagon?”
I’d like to address this comment in more detail than Twitter allows.
Scam Detectives doesn’t “jump on bandwagons”. We have a genuine concern for the safety of children. If this sometimes means that we come across as “Mary Whitehouse-like” then we offer no apology for this.
TV and Radio in the UK have to comply with strict guidelines about what can be broadcast before the 9pm watershed, and DVDs are subject to BBFC ratings which are legally enforceable at point of sale.
If Iggle Piggle threw off his costume and pranced around the “Night Garden” stark naked, snorting cocaine and shouting “I want to sh*g Upsy Daisy” there’d be uproar, and not one person would be saying “Well, why were you in the kitchen washing up while your kids were watching telly unsupervised…”
Why? Because parents expect that CBeebies will maintain standards and age appropriate content in their programming.
These controls are put in place not to absolve parents of their responsibility to ensure that what their children see and hear is appropriate, but to support them in ensuring that their children’s access to inappropriate material is restricted and they can have some confidence in the media they allow their children to see.
Parents can further mitigate the risk of their kids seeing inappropriate stuff by not allowing them to have TVs and DVD players in their bedrooms, so if they want to watch films and TV, they do so in the company of their parents.
The risk comes from your kids watching films in other places, such as at friends houses, where parents don’t necessarily apply the same standards as you do, so you may find that when little Johnny stays over at little Pete’s house, he gets to watch “Nightmare on Elm St part 27″ and has nightmares for a month afterwards.
The Internet is no different. How can you be sure that your kids are not accessing Facebook in cybercafes, at public libraries or at school, or at “little Pete’s house”. Whatever controls you put in place at home, kids WILL find a way to circumvent them.
By asking Facebook to enforce their own policy of “no under 13’s” by introducing a software solution to ensure that no underage kids can join up or access the content on the site, we are not advocating censorship, jumping on a bandwagon or vilifying Facebook as a plaything of the devil.
We’re just asking them to support parents in their endeavours to keep their kids safe by putting bouncers on their doors and barring access to under 13’s.
Is that such a bad thing?
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