The European Commission and U.S. Department of Homeland Security signed a joint declaration on November 20 promising to both raise awareness of online safety issues and work together to ensure young people have a safer experience online. Social media is obviously one of the biggest privacy concerns among all age groups, but teenagers and younger children are particularly vulnerable targets for scammers and predators.

“At Facebook we also believe that safety is a shared responsibility and we are continually working on improving our tools to empower teens so that they can have a safe and fun experience on Facebook,” Facebook said in a statement on their safety page. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, was quick to point out in a video statement that Facebook sees to ensure all of its users have real names and real identities so that they are held accountable for their actions on the site.

The joint declaration between Europe and U.S. Homeland Security is important namely because it makes education a top priority in combating cybercrime. Facebook is correct in saying that most of the responsibility falls on their users to avoid being taken advantage of online, and this declaration is an important step toward informing both parents and children about how to properly protect themselves.

Recommended Resources

BitDefender Safego is a Facebook application you can install that will scan your News Feed and help keep you safe from scams on Facebook.

PRIVATE WiFi® is a Personal VPN that encrypts everything you send and receive. Don’t access Facebook from a public WiFi hotspot without it.

Action Alert | Free Parental Control offers a 100% free Internet safety solution designed for parents. There is also a Maximum Protection option for parents that need a more advanced set of tools.