Anti-bullying, ICT support, Parent-Teacher group, Specialist Status - Monday, July 12, 2010 15:12 - 0 Comments

ClickCEOP – Facebook application

Today a new safety application has been available on Facebook which adds safety features to your Facebook profile. We’d strongly suggest that all users of Facebook enable this feature on their profile – as part of sensible and safe internet practice. Of course, continue to use the excellent Cybermentors site too (which has the button included without you even needing to setup any sort of app).

Should you need to report such issues you can also go directly to the report abuse CEOP webpage

CEOP have released the following information this afternoon:

As you may have seen in the press this morning, Facebook and the CEOP Centre have joined forces to make young people safer online by launching the new ‘ClickCEOP’ application.

Launching today, all young users of Facebook – and their parents – are invited to add the new ClickCEOP ‘app’ to their profile. Through this app, they will be able to access advice, help and support from the CEOP Centre. Crucially, young people will be able to report instances of suspected grooming or inappropriate sexual behaviour directly from their profile to specially trained investigators.

The ‘app’ is the outcome of collaboration between CEOP and Facebook who have combined Facebook’s expertise in connecting and communicating online with CEOP’s expertise in helping young people stay safe.
Once added to their profiles, young users will receive regular messages from CEOP and its partner organisations who operate ‘behind the button’ to make children safer. CEOP’s new Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ClickCEOP) will also contain polls, news alerts and status updates. The page will look at topics that teenagers care about, such as celebrities, music and exams and will link these subjects to questions about online safety.

Users can either add or bookmark the ‘app’ so it appears on their profile, as not only a constant source of help and reassurance for them but also as a strong visual signal to their friends, family and others that they are in control online.

The move is also being supported by an advertising campaign on Facebook that will encourage take up. This will include an automatic advert appearing on every profile of users aged between 13-18 years inviting them to add the app.

Jim Gamble, Chief Executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre said:

“Today represents a huge step forward. By adding this app, Facebook users will have direct access to all the services that sit behind our ClickCEOP button and this should provide reassurance for the many parents whose teenage children use Facebook.

“We know from speaking to offenders that a visible deterrent could protect young people online. We urge all Facebook users not only to add the app, but also to bookmark it so that others can see that they’re in control online. Our dialogue with Facebook about adopting the ClickCEOP button is well documented – this is a good day for child protection.”

Joanna Shields, Facebook’s Vice President for EMEA said:

“Nothing is more important than the safety of our users, which is why we have invested so much in making Facebook one of the safest places on the internet. There is no single silver bullet to making the internet safer but by joining forces with CEOP, we have developed a comprehensive solution which marries our expertise in technology with CEOP’s expertise in online safety. Together we have developed a new way of helping young people stays safe online and backed this with an awareness campaign to publicise it to young users. It is only through the constant and concerted effort of the industry, police, parents and young people themselves that we can all keep safe online – whether on Facebook or elsewhere.”

ClickCEOP in Facebook…

If you would like to support CEOP and Facebook’s initiative, please feel free to use any of the following updates for your Facebook or Twitter accounts or website.

1. Facebook status update
(Your organisation /fan group) …is / are supporting the ClickCEOP app on Facebook – if you are interested in keeping young people safe online, add the app

2. Twitter update
If you work with young people, help them stay safe in #Facebook and get them to add the new #ClickCEOP app from www.facebook.com/ClickCEOP

3. Web site content
Every young person on Facebook needs the ClickCEOP app – this is why
If you work with teenagers, then you’ll know most of them will be using Facebook. You might even be using it yourself… if so, you will want to know about a new, free application in Facebook that is designed to keep young people safe while they are having fun networking online.

ClickCEOP is a new ‘app’ launched today (Monday 12 July) which links the young user directly from their Facebook profile to help, advice and reporting facilities of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre – the police agency set up to tackle child abuse.

By adding the app, young people and parents can get support from CEOP on a range of issues – viruses, hacking, dealing with bullying online and they can report someone who is acting inappropriately towards them online.

If you have a Facebook profile, app and bookmark the app. If children in your care are on Facebook, get them to search ‘ClickCEOP’ in Facebook and give them to chance to be one click away from help – if they should ever need it.

www.facebook.com/clickceop

kind Regards,
CEOP