Bebo joins the fight against online bullies
BEBO bosses have vowed to crack down on online bullies in
the wake of the death of Sam Leeson.
As The Citizen continues its
campaign to stamp out the internet bullies who made 13-year-old
Sam’s life hell, the social networking site says it has put
measures in place to help those who are being threatened.
Sam's family, from Tredworth, hit out at social networking
sites following his apparent suicide earlier this month.
Now Bebo has said it will do more to stop the online
bullies.
A spokesman for the site, which is based in Austin, Texas,
said they were working with support groups in a bid to tackle
the growing problem.
He said: “"We are shocked and saddened by the death of Sam
Leeson.
“Bebo continues to actively work with mental health and
social care organisations, including the Samaritans, to provide
support and advice for its members.
“We have strict terms of use which users agree to at the
point of registration, under which inappropriate or illegal
communications are strictly forbidden.
“Content which comes to our attention that contravenes those
terms is immediately suspended and investigated.
“We educate our users to be responsible and to understand
that they are not anonymous online as their activity creates a
digital record of behaviour which, should it breach our terms,
can be used to assist law enforcement if required.”
Anthony Langan, from the Samaritans, said teenagers were
increasingly at risk from online bullying.
He said: “Working with Bebo lets Samaritans engage with
young people through the internet.
“Teenagers are one of the most 'at risk' groups and
increasingly use the internet to access advice from support
services. Suicide is an issue for society as a whole – the
internet provides a window into the issues young people are
dealing with.
“ Samaritans has been invited to join the Prime Minister's
UK Council on Child Internet Safety and one of things we will
be pressing for is a commitment from government to promote
services such as ours to young people wherever they are.”
Citizen
3 Comments
by Lisa Collins, Lancashire
Thursday, June 26 2008, 2:02PM
“sorry typo - photo taken withOUT permission in previous comment”
by Lisa Collins, Lancashire
Thursday, June 26 2008, 2:00PM
“I'll believe it when I see it. I have a friend who is a teacher who was recently alerted to the existance of a Bebo group basically verbally abusing her ("child molester" etc) with 110 members. This is enough to unnerve any teacher. The problem with Bebo is that it relies on people actually reporting the abuse and reporting is profile based -you can¿t report a group as a whole -if no one reports, then nothing is done about it. This group summary (which was searchable by any member of the public not just group members) included a photograph of the teacher (taken with permission) and clearly identified the individual in the summary wording along with a very nasty, offensive description. This group existed for 4 months + without any abuse reporting. Bebo do not appear to independantly identify even extremely offensive, slanderous material. She's still waiting for an apology from Bebo.”
by mary glenn, Austin, TX
Tuesday, June 17 2008, 3:10PM
“There are many anti suicide groups on Bebo, too, but kids get so caught up in their social circles that they may never find them.
P.S. Bebo is not based in Austin, Texas”