Predators on Facebook: Should you be worried?

 

In the wake of the shocking rape and murder of teenager Ashleigh Hall, who was ‘groomed’ by predatory paedophile Peter Chapman on Facebook, the British press have been quick to point the finger of blame at Facebook.

In an unbelievably sensationalist article on the Daily Mail website, Mark Williams-Thomas, a ‘vastly experienced’ consultant in child protection and a former police detective, paints a terrifying picture of hundreds of men waiting to groom and abuse young women online.  Mr Williams-Thomas set up a profile purporting to be a 14-year old girl and, apparently, simply waited for the indecent proposals to flood in.

Safer Internet Day: Microsoft and CEOP release Internet Explorer 8 “Click Clever, Click Safe” Version

 
Today Microsoft have launched a special version of their Internet Explorer 8 browser software, in conjunction with the UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP).  The “Click Clever, Click Safe” version contains several tools to enable the user to quickly obtain advice from and report their concerns to CEOP.