GOOD PRACTICE FOR INDUSTRY – SOCIAL NETWORKING

Responsibilities companies have in keeping children safe online

There is no doubt that companies providing new social networking services face considerable challenges. Along with the technical, legal and commercial considerations, these companies are at the cutting edge of testing important privacy, safety and ethical issues especially when it comes to children and young people using their services. 

On this area of the website Childnet draws on existing models of good practice for online services aimed at or that are likely to attract children and outlines the issues that companies need to take into consideration when developing new social networking interactive services for young people. This is by no means a definitive checklist but serves as a useful reference for those providing or looking to provide such services.

1

PRIVACY SETTINGS AND PRIVATE/PUBLIC ENVIRONMENT:

It is vital that users are aware whether they or their information are in a private or public environment as this has important implications on how they should behave to keep safe.  Childnet believes that the best way of achieving this includes:

Having all default settings to “private”. If users have to opt-in to include themselves in member directories and make their blog publicly viewable, then they will be aware of and thus be better able to control which environment they are in. There should be no automatic inclusion of information taken from the process of registration of the service put into a user’s profile [1]. The user's profile should be set at “empty”, ensuring that the user at all times is in control of what information they are submitting.

Providing a clear description of the type of environment to the potential user and the user, ie open or public, or personal or private [2].

2

PROVISION OF RELEVANT SAFETY ADVICE:

It is good practice to provide users with access to good quality relevant safety advice and education both on the wider internet safety issues but also on how to use the particular service provided safely. The best way to achieving this includes:

1. Ensuring that the language used in safety advice is accessible, clear and relevant to the user (with special consideration for younger users).
2. That the safety information is “timely” – i.e it is accessible at the point of need – when a service is being used, when a problem could arise,
3. That the safety information is relevant to the service that is being provided
4. That this safety information is updated and constantly tested for effectiveness and relevancy to users.
5. This information should be prominent [3], ie clearly visible, so the user can find it without having to go looking for it. It is also good practice to make this information available on the home page, so non-users of the service (including parents), or those thinking of using the service, can be aware of these issues before they start. 
6. That at the point of induction and start up, users have an effective tutorial on how the environment works, their options as to selecting a private or more public environment, and their responsibilities. Users should be informed of their responsibilities using the service, including how to behave and act responsibly in posting of images and comments to others. 
7. Links should be prominently provided to sites that may of help to users, covering issues such as online safety and bullying for example [4].

Childnet has produced a range of online safety advice resources including Chatdanger.com and “Know IT All”. The Charity is happy for it’s “Friend or Foe” and “Your Call” online modules to be used by companies which help inform young users of the safety issues. Childnet’s SMART rules banner can also be used free of charge - see www.chatdanger.com/smartbanner.aspx.

3

PROVISION OF EFFECTIVE SAFETY TOOLS:

It is good practice to provide users with access to tools that can assist them in keeping safe. As well as access to such tools, it is important to make users aware of the availability of these tools, and that they are easily reachable and useable. It is important, for example, that a user can block comments from a particular user, and also that they are able to report someone to the service provider who is behaving in a way that is inappropriate, breaking the rules of the service, or even behaving in an illegal fashion.

Good practice in this area includes:

1. Making it very clear to users on how to block and unblock users, and making any blocking feature prominent and easily accessible to the user [5].
2. Providing prominent and accessible reporting mechanisms [6], so that a user is able to contact the service provider easily. The user should also be able to make a report immediately, i.e. from the place about which they wish to report someone (e.g., "Report this Photo").  It is also important that the user is given a response to inform them that their e-mail has been received and will be dealt with within the next 24 hours for example.
3. That the service have adequate staffing for an acceptable level of responsiveness to abuse reports (e.g., within 24 hours) acknowledging that – where minors are involved – there are additional response needs and public expectations.
4. There are implications that need to be considered in relation to having a team that moderates and receives reports from children. These implications include issues around recruitment, training, staff welfare, and are discussed in the Home Office Good Practice guidance on Moderation [7].
5. The user should be advised that for emergencies or for other specified reasons, they may wish to contact the police (for example) directly, and links could be given here for the Virtual Global Taskforce/ National Centre etc.
6. Making it clear to the user whether the service is moderated or not, and, if it is moderated, how it is moderated [8].

4

PROTECTING USERS PRIVACY:

It is vital that users privacy is respected and protected. Clearly companies must adhere to legal standards, but in addition to this they must reassure users by informing them how their personal details will be used by the service provider. It is also important for companies to include effective advice on how users can protect their own privacy and use these public environments safely.

Good practice in this area includes:

1. The requirement for personal information while registering should be minimal, and should not be more extensive than necessary [9]. Where this information is required it is good practice to make sure the user knows why this information is needed and how this information will and won’t be used.
2. Sites should have clear privacy statements outlining the company’s commitment to safety and privacy with clear explanation as to why any personal information that is collected is needed and what it will and won’t be used for. This information should be conveyed in a way that is accessible for all ages, and be prominently available on the homepage and from other areas of the service.
3. Childnet believe that service providers should be open with users about the advertising on their sites, for example, making clear to users whether the information that the user discloses for registration influences the advertising the user sees while using the service. This is of special concern where children are involved, due to advertisers' growing interest in "viral" (or user-assisted/distributed) marketing.
4. If advertising is used on a site, then it is important to review both the content and practices in terms of its appropriateness on a service that is aimed at or likely to attract children [10].

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[1] See the Home Office Task Force on child protection on the Internet’s ‘Good Practice models and guidance for the Internet Industry on: Chat services, Instant Messaging (IM), and Web-based services’, p20,
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-and-publications/publication/operational-policing/ho_model.pdf?view=Binary  
[2] Ibid, pp 18-19.
[3] See the Home Office Task Force on child protection on the Internet’s ‘Good Practice models and guidance for the Internet Industry on: Chat services, Instant Messaging (IM), and Web-based services’, p 13 and 19,
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-and-publications/publication/operational-policing/ho_model.pdf?view=Binary  
[4] Ibid, p13
[5] See the ‘Good Practice models and guidance for the Internet Industry on: Chat services, Instant Messaging (IM), and Web-based services’, p14 and 19,
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-and-publications/publication/operational-policing/ho_model.pdf?view=Binary
[6] Ibid, p15, 19-20.
[7] See the ‘Good practice guidance for the moderation of interactive services for children’, p14-25 http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-and-publications/publication/operational-policing/moderation.pdf?view=Binary
[8] Ibid, p13
[9] See the ‘Good Practice models and guidance for the Internet Industry on: Chat services, Instant Messaging (IM), and Web-based services’, p14,        
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-and-publications/publication/operational-policing/ho_model.pdf?view=Binary
[10] Ibid, p25.