A UK police agency has been accused of surrender in the battle to protect young children from online dangers posed by a minority of Facebook users.
North East MSP Alex Johnstone claimed advice from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre, instructing parents how to set up a page for their child, amounts to an acceptance that youngsters under 13 will inevitably be exposed to the site.
CEOP hit back, saying guidelines issued on their website reflect the fact an increasing number of youngsters are using Facebook without parental consent.
Mr Johnstone said: “There was grave concern expressed by MSPs of all parties that not enough was being done by social networking sites to combat cyberbullying and ensure that members are of the minimum age required by the site’s rules.
“Now we find that CEOP, instead of directing adults to more age appropriate social networking sites for their children, are raising the white flag and facilitating access to age-restricted sites.”
A CEOP spokesman said it was clear that children younger than 13 should not use Facebook.
He added: “However, we have to be pragmatic in the advice and support we provide to parents who are doing their best to protect their children.
“The reality is that many children under 13 want to use Facebook and will find ways to bypass the age restrictions imposed by the company.
“Indeed, a recent study by Professor Sonia Livingstone showed that 34% of the UK’s nine to 12-year-olds have a Facebook profile, so we can’t pretend the problem does not exist.”
Speaking at the Oxford Media Convention last week, Simon Milner, director of policy for Facebook UK and Ireland, admitted that dealing with users under the age of 13 was a “tricky” issue for the company.
For the last six years, CEOP has been running an education programme in response to technology being exploited by offenders to abuse children.
Kezia Dugdale MSP, chairwoman of the Holyrood cross-party group on children and young people, said: “There is no harm in supporting parents support their children, but I believe it is vital to do so alongside peer-to-peer training, which helps young people better understand the risk from those around them.
“This is a model developed by Catriona Laing in Perth and Kinross, who I believe is the only e-safety schools officer in Scotland, and I strongly encourage Scottish Government ministers to look closely at her work and how they can better support this kind of learning.
“With many children as young as 10 years old having smartphones and Facebook accounts, this issue needs more of their attention.”