An Age of Magic

Facebook alert-button proves dangerously popular.

More than 200 Facebook users have reported suspicious behaviour online since the launch of an anti-abuse application last month, figures showed today. Investigators saw more than a seven-fold increase in the number of reports from the social networking site since the launch of the safety button which aims to protect children from bullying, suspected grooming and other abuse. A total of 211 people used the site’s ClickCEOP button to report abuse since July 12, compared with just 28 users who reported abuse through the site in the month before its launch.

The safety button has been at the centre of an embarrassing public row for Facebook, one of the world’s most popular social-networking sites, which resisted requests for a so-called panic button on all young people’s profile pages. The American company faced an unprecedented fusillade of pleas from Ceop, police chiefs, politicians, charities and campaign groups who supported its use.

Popularity: 27% [?]