14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook is about to become safer for teenagers with the deployment of a Panic Button app. At least that’s the hope of the UK government agency the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop). Facebook users will be able to install an app which will give them quick access to help resources provided by the agency if they believe to be under threat. The move follows several months of pressure from groups as Facebook initially resisted the idea saying its own tools were sufficient.
The new Facebook application will be advertised on the homepages of users aged 13 to 18 years old which will be encouraged to install the Panic Button for their safety. The name ca be misleading, the Panic Button is not really a button. And the app doesn’t do much either.
If a teenager believes someone is acting inappropriately, the Panic Button serves as a direct link to a help center set up by Ceop which will provide them with ways to contact authorities and general information concerning the situation.
Apparently, it will also warn their friends when something has happened, though the details on this are a bit sketchy for now. Presumably, this is done by alerting friends about the particular account that a teenager is worried about. The problem is that mistakes will be made and publicly ‘outing’ and accusing someone of something like this can have very bad consequences for innocent people.
What’s more, the tool is ripe for abuse and some may use it to harass other users. If this is indeed how the tool will work there should be some accountability for using it and measures put in place to prevent abuse. However, it may be that friends will be notified that someone has installed the app or has used it, without providing any other details. Facebook is now working on integrating the new tool with its own revamped Safety Center.