My own kids both experienced cyberbullying at least 8 years ago, before it even had a name. Theirs was through instant messaging, before MySpace and Facebook were options. The difference is huge. IM attacks were between two individuals. MySpace and Facebook bullying is infinitely more damaging.
A new case involves a fake Facebook profile that amassed more than 500 followers before it was taken down. Now, the mom of the victim has filed a lawsuit on behalf of her son, attempting to extract damages against the misguided individuals who posted the fake profile. While the offenders were most definitely in the wrong, and probably should be sued, I have to wonder what Facebook could have done to prevent this mindless incident.
One security measure I thought of: If more than one Facebook profile tracks back to a single IP address, then perhaps Facebook should require the cell phone number of the creator, and send that person a special code to unlock the page. I realize this method would not be fool proof, but it could feature one more explicit warning against fraud.
Is Facebook destined to be a graveyard for abandoned pages, or do you think the company will ever put resources toward preventing fraud and erasing junk pages? It would be nice for them boost their customer service level on this particular issue. From past experience with Facebook's customer service, the answer is almost always, "that is not a priority so we'll get to it when we get to it." For a company that continues to receive multi-million dollar infusions of cash, the answer is no longer acceptable.
Definitely agree some security needs to be put in place. Trouble with IP address is that I'd almost bet the bullies setup the profile from a school computer.
Posted by: Joshua Stewardson | September 28, 2009 at 10:01 AM