back to article CEOP claims success for Facebook 'panic button'

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre has received 211 reports of "suspicious activity" on Facebook since the launch of a branded app last month, it announced today. By comparison, earlier this year CEOP said it received 257 complaints about activity on the dominant social network in three months. The " …

COMMENTS

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    How many of those are valid?

    How many of those complaints actually turn out to be valid and help capture a pedophile? And how many are friends reporting each other for a laugh/revenge?

    1. Abolition

      How good is the CEOP button?

      Well what is the function of the button, what is the best way to measure it? I will save you the trouble, nobody is going to prison because of it - absolutely nobody. CEOP and the UKHTC have 'publicity' missions - they are little or no use to foreign police agencies, and to be honest are viewed as spin merchantrs, or post office boxes. CEOP is light years away from being the FBI.

  2. web_bod
    Coat

    impressive

    0.0008115384615384651% W00t!

    Mines the one with iffy calculator in the pocket.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Boffin

      Urh?

      What is that a percentage of?

      Percentage of Facebook using the app: 0.0019230769230769230769230769230769%Percentage of Facebook reported last month: 0.0000098846153846153846153846153846%

  3. Jelliphiish
    Badgers

    hope it does some good

    but i can't help wondering if the devil in these details would show some numerical massage had been applied... that story just tells us the number of reported hits and dl/install?

    i wonder how many of those were proper 'issues' and how many were just clicked for the hell of it..

  4. Number6

    False Alarms?

    How many are real concerns and how many were malicious or accidental?

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ACPO involved?

    Presumably people on bus routes with curtains drawn are above board when the curtains twitch? Then they go online and press the CEOP button on Facebook once for every passenger on the bus that just went by?

  6. Seanmon
    WTF?

    Hang on...

    1) A threefold INCREASE in complaints is a GOOD thing?

    2) And all these are generated by an estimated 0.2% of UK Farceboak users?*

    *someone check my working -it's late

  7. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    FAIL

    Mmmm. Numbers. Fun!

    26 million users and 55k subscribed comes out at 0.21% - not a figure to be especially proud of. Added to which, just because they subscribed doesn't mean they will ever do anything about it. However...

    Of those 55k 257 have made a complaint. Wow! A whole 0.47%. Now they don't say that those complain are:-

    A: Valid

    B: Relevant

    Personally I'd be surprised if even 10 fit the criteria. I'd expect most to be along the lines, "Jody called me a bitch". However, lets be really generous and say 1/4 of then fit the bill. That gives us a hit rate of 25% of 0.47% of 0.21%

    Hmmm. 0.00025%. Impressed?

    1. blackworx
      Alert

      Project that out

      And you get 150 Facebook paedophiles in the UK.

      I vote martial law until someone thinks of the children.

      1. 2FishInATank
        Big Brother

        Hmmm

        You've obviously thought of the children...and who thinks of children the most? That's right - paedophiles.

        Stay where you are, the Paedofinder General will be along to torture your confession out of you shortly.

  8. g e

    Haha

    Well they'd never call it a total failure would they.

    How many of those 'reports' were people puching the button to see what happened, they happen to mention that?

    What did they say the conviction rate was?

    'Push this button for instant protection from something that can't actually harm you unless you're pig-thick enough to get on a bus and go visit them'.

    I much preferred 'Do not press this button' followed by 'Do not push this button again' - Hitch Hiker's Guide style.

    They should give themselves an award and send out press releases saying how they won their own platinum standard award for being so platinum-standard-worthy.

  9. frank 3

    0.004% of app users report a problem.

    gosh.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    Will no one think of..

    In other news, 0.2% of Uk people using the site have at some point installed said app. Congrats.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Success or failure?

    How many convictions from those 211 reports? I'm assuming more than 0 because if it's only 0, then it's been a huge failure so far. ie 211 needlessly harrassed people...

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    257?

    My god, the sky is falling!

    /sarcasm

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What they're saying is...

    The button has been pressed 211 times.

    Without any evidence or even prosecutions this figure from the endlessly self-promoting Jim Gamble is worthless.

  14. Graham Marsden
    Boffin

    211 "reports" != 211 actual *cases*

    But since when did the facts bother Jim Gamble and his little Empire?

  15. Wibble
    Stop

    Kids will be kids?

    So, you put a button on a page that says "in case of emergency, click here" or wotever. How many kids could not resist that? About 200? How many were journos? How about friends of SeeOp?

    Can we have audited clickthrough figures please.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Oh $Deity, nooooooos

    The little p***k will probably be all over the airwaves tomorrow telling us all how successful CEOP is and how we are knee deep in pervs and how Jim's button saves our children.

    1. Ben Holmes
      Joke

      I have...

      ...no desire to think of "Jim's Button". That's precisely the kind of filth the Panic Button is designed to protect us from!

  17. Jiminy

    alternative headline

    CEOP button causes huge rise in paedophile numbers

    we should ban CEOP now, if banning it saves just one child from an imaginary paedo then it will be worth it

  18. Paul Gomme

    Anyone got a calendar...?

    ...I just need to check when the next Honours List comes out...

    </cynicism>

  19. John Tserkezis
    FAIL

    It's all about liability and nothing else.

    Two points:

    Firstly: A girl here in australia raised an alarm several times about a suspect user, then got out on her own and met him anyway. They found her dead.

    It's sad even if you factor in the lack of common sense.

    Secondly: "Children under 13 aren't allowed to register."

    No really, are they fecking high on crack?

    What's the point of mentioning that if they know full well that's a fair chunk of their membership?

    But that's all right, since their users clicked the "I'm over 13" button, facebook is relieved of any liability.

    Problem solved.

  20. Ally J
    FAIL

    In a few months, this will all be forgotten

    and Jim will have to find some other crisis to raise his profile/justify his existence.

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Panic

    When was panic a good idea?

    Surely a controlled, restrained, logical alert button would be better?

    And if they want to prevent anybody 14 joining, they could be asked to choose which of the following phrases most accurately describes them:

    a) Like oh my god I is, like, at least 14 innit

    or

    b) I can confirm I am at least 14 years of age.

    In my experience of travelling on public transport in London, very few children under 14 are likely to answer b)

  22. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

    How long before

    Someone opens a Facebook group called "Press CEOP Button and See What Happens"?

  23. Rex Alfie Lee
    Go

    Restricted to 14 years & over...

    This is rubbish. Most kids want in on FB & why the hell shouldn't they. It's up to us as parents to assess & we need to keep a good eye on what is going on. Don't be overly shocked if their language is a little surprising in its informal nature. They are kids after all & do you not remember what you did when you were 14 & where you are today because of your experiences. Allow them to have some but of course be aware of peer pressure & the nastiness that that can encounter.

    As far as Paedophiles online are concerned, those that haven't been caught have numbered days. The digital age is one of reverse IP look-ups that result in old stuff being found out & where it comes from will come out too. Just make sure that you are auditing the stuff that is online. It is your job until they're 18.

  24. Malcolm Boura 2

    How many under 13s?

    I know of several under 13s who are members of Facebook. I wonder if anyone has actually done the research to find out the numbers and whether this Facebook excuse actually has any validity?

    There are much more constructive and much more effective ways to safeguard children than arbitrary and easily circumvented age limits. But then what else is to be expected? I have no confidence that Facebook cares about the welfare of anyone apart from Facebook. Their censorship policies show that that they are much more concerned about popular prejudice and money than the welfare of young people. It is all part of the same immoral picture.

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