Social media sites ‘must do more’ to protect children

The responses of social networking sites to bullying or other damaging online material about children needs to be improved, a key internet safety adviser to the Government and the EU has said.

Although Brian O’Neill says Facebook and Google are improving the way they respond to complaints from schools, parents and children, he believes more can be done. He has written an EU report with recommendations for children, parents, schools, governments and industry based on research with pupils in 33 countries.

Among the recommendations of the study, launched this week at an international internet governance forum in Turkey, is that industry providers provide tools to allow children and teenagers remove content that may be damaging to their reputation or personal integrity.