Facebook To Promote Online Child Safety

Facebook, the world's largest online social networking site, and a national parents-teachers' association in the United States of America will work together to build a program to provide information and support about issues on online child safety such as cyberbullying, good online citizenship and Internet security. The social networking site with the cooperation of the US National PTA will promote Internet safety through a set of tools and resources for kids, schools and parents. The partnership has just started so officials do not have much details yet on what kinds of resources they plan to offer on their respective websites and through other means.

Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said the plan is not just to educate kids about being on Facebook, but about being online. He said "the sooner we can get instilling responsible behavior, the better." The PTA will reach out to local parent-teacher groups to promote the program, while Facebook plans to do the same on its site.

Anne Collier, co-director of Connectsafely.org, a forum about online safety issues, said the deal combining Facebook's broad reach and the PTA's relationship with schools and parents is commendable. "Citizenship online and offline needs to be a part of the child's life," she said. "It needs to be taught at school and at home — it's not just a digital thing."

I-Café Pilipinas as the national advocacy body of the Internet café industry in the country has online child safety in its program of instilling social responsibility among its constituents. The organization looks forward to the implementation and success of the collaboration being spearheaded by Facebook.