KaKoo

Update: A Facebook UK representative has contacted us to clarify that Facebook does not perceive this app as a "panic button." "The app is opt-in, so young people choose to download it/bookmark it to their page in order to use," she said. A similar button, seen on other sites such as Bebo, is "not opt-in and is simply a reporting link, not teamed with messages of how to stay safe or further info from CEOP," she said.FacebookFacebook will help UK teens fight cyber abuse and bullying by deploying a panic button on its sites. Teens will be encouraged to click it when suspicious that they're being targeted for abuse.The button will actually connect the teens with resources hosted by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), an organization run in part by the UK government. Teens will be given advice and resources on dealing with potential threats on the InternetInternet, and they may also report users who they believe are acting inappropriately toward them.The tool will be advertised on the home pages of teenage Facebook users.

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Why the Change?

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A UK official joined the mother of murdered teenager Ashleigh Hall in a call for the deployment of the button on Facebook. The tool is already present on other sites, including Bebo. Facebook resisted joining them at first, claiming that it already offers reporting tools, but the BBC says that Facebook finally agreed to do it after 44 police chiefs signed a petition.Advocates argue that integration with the well-established CEOP organization will help authorities take legal or police action more swiftly and accurately.The button will be part of a larger application run by CEOP. We don't have all the details yet, but we do know that there will also be a landing page with basic safety information for teenagers. Facebook already launched something similar on its own with the revamped Safety Center two months ago.

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Potential Problems

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Facebook rep Sophy Silver was quoted by the BBC saying that the reporting tool will act as a "viral awareness campaign" by informing your friends when something's up, too.While we're all for tools that help protect teenagers from sharing Ashleigh Hall's fate, we're concerned about the potential abuses of this tool. People will inevitably make errors when using it, and some might even abuse it as a means of harassment or humiliation against peers.Here's to hoping that there will be strong protections against that kind of abuse in the final product. Do you have any ideas about how Facebook and CEOP could make a system that protects teens but that isn't ripe for abuse?Image courtesy of iStockphotoiStockphoto, robeo

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