Facebook forms board to lick molesters

Seeks group wisdom on protecting kids

Facebook has called on a fellowship of web safety organizations to prove that it really doesn't want your dumb kid molested online.

The social network hub - which recently purged 2,782 registered New York sex offenders in a single sweep - says it plans to organize a special (and properly capitalized) Facebook Safety Advisory Board that it will consult on issues of web safety for teens and tots.

Facebook reckons to meet "regularly" with the board to review the existing safety resources provided to users and develop new materials designed to steer youngsters clear of online abuse. Its first task is to overhaul the website's safety content located in Facebook's Help Center — because apparently Facebook believes kids read that in the first place, just the phrasing isn't so clear.

Organizations on board are Common Sense Media, ConnectSafely, WiredSafety, Childnet International, and The Family Online Safety Institute. Combined they form what is to pedophiles what Voltron is to the evil King Zerkon from planet Doom¹.

"We believe that the only way to keep kids safe online is for everyone who wants to protect them to work together," Facebook's vice president Elliot Schrange said in a statement.

"The formation of a board to advise specifically on safety issues is a positive, innovative and collaborative step towards creating a more robust safety environment, and we are thrilled that such a well-respected, trusted, group of organizations has joined us in this endeavor," he added, rounding his bases on adjective use.

The safety announcement arrives less than a week after the website revamped its privacy controls. Facebook added the ability to limit who can see content a user uploads and simplified its privacy settings options. ®

¹ That is to say, against it.