The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre, a
wing of the newly formed Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA),
will ask children, parents, teachers and industry figures to a
series of meetings later this month to help the agency to formulate
policies to combat child abuse via social networking sites.
"This is an opportunity for everyone, especially young people,
to get involved, share their experiences and to help CEOP
understand the issues," said CEOP chief executive Jim Gamble. "That
way we are not only gaining a greater understanding of this
environment but also how we make it safer by design for all young
people to use."
The move follows several high-profile incidents relating to
popular sites MySpace and Bebo. A woman in Texas has filed a law
suit against MySpace after her 14 year old daughter was assaulted
by a man she was first in contact with on the site. Two teenage
girls in the US were found to have used MySpace to publish death
threats against a fellow school pupil, while two other girls robbed
a man at gunpoint after they pretended to be an older woman and
lured him to a flat.
Gamble said that the dangers were very real. "A survey by the
London School of Economics shows that one in 12 children have met
someone offline who they initially encountered in an online
environment," he said.
"Social networking sites provide great opportunities for young
people to meet and share experiences, but with this freedom comes a
degree of risk and the need to act responsibly. We know that where
children go online, so do those who seek to abuse them."
CEOP was formed in April and brings together police, specialists
from charities and figures from industry to help combat child
abuse.
