Facebook in partnership with Watoto Watch Network hosted the “Facebook for Safer Internet Forum” on 14th February 2020 to demonstrate how the company and its family of apps are committed to online safety. Facebook also shared it’s top ten tips for parents to help children stay safe on social media platforms.
The Facebook for Safer Internet forum brought together young people, safety experts, influencers and parents to discuss online child safety and explore ways to better understand the challenges and opportunities that children and young people face online.
Online safety tools
The forum marked this year’s Safer Internet Day (SID) that aimed to unite people globally to inspire and raise awareness on online safety for children and young people under the theme “Together for a better Internet”.
“Every day, millions of people across East Africa use Facebook and Instagram to share and connect with their communities,” said Facebook’s Head of Public Policy Mercy Ndegwa.
“We recognize the important role we play in creating a safe space, that’s why we offer a range of tools on our platforms to give people full control over their experience and work with our partners to drive awareness about the practices, resources and tools people can use to protect their online wellbeing.”
Watoto Watch Network Executive Director Lilian Kariuki said they were working with the social media giant to create a safer and more secure online environment for children and young people.
“With many young people using social media and being online daily, Watoto Watch Network’s focus is on using digital literacy education that focuses on encouraging young people and their parents to emulate good online safety habits.
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- Young people can benefit from the following Facebook and Instagram safety tools and resources:
- New tools on Instagram that filter comments that may be inappropriate, offensive or bullying – including keyword filtering, sensitivity screens, offensive comment and bullying filters.
- Instagram has created new ways to help stop bullying before it happens. If someone writes a comment or caption for a feed post that its AI detects as potentially offensive, they will receive a prompt that the language used is similar to language that has been reported for bullying. They will then have an opportunity to edit the caption or comment before posting.
- The Instagram Safety Centre is a place where you can learn more about the safety features on Instagram.
- The Youth Portal, which is a central place for teens to get a better understanding of Facebook’s products, hear from other peers, and get tips and advice on controlling their experience. This is part of the safety centre, a resource for topics like suicide prevention, social resolution and bullying prevention.
- Use of artificial intelligence to help identify when someone might be expressing thought of suicide, including on Facebook Live and Instagram Live.
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