Facebook

101: How Facebook Protects Minors

In order to be eligible to sign up for Facebook, people must be 13 years of age or older. As you might expect, since Facebook is a U.S.-based company, it complies with United States privacy laws, including the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) (http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/coppafaqs.shtm). This law requires web sites to get parental permission before collecting personal information about children under the age of 13. If you live outside the United States, we encourage you to learn more about the laws that apply to children and their use of the Internet in your country. To be clear, Facebook doesnt collect information from young children; instead, it prohibits them from using the service. If you have students that are under the age of 13, they will not be able to create an account or access any groups or pages on Facebook. Facebook, as a company, has always believed that fake names and hidden identities are a bad idea in social networks. We agree. Facebooks policy states that people who register must use real names. We think thats good. Facebooks real identity culture means the site is more likely to be a trusted community of friends, family, coworkers, and classmates. Facebook Community Standards Facebook has outlined standards for content in an online resource called Facebooks Community Standards (facebook.com/communitystandards). We encourage you to review these standards and share them with your students as part of a larger discussion about appropriate online behavior. The ever growing number of people who use Facebook are, in some ways, part of the worlds largest neighborhood watch. Report Abuse buttons are located on nearly every page of Facebook. If users report offensive or abusive content such as photos, someone on the Facebook safety team will investigate and remove it from the site, if needed. For information on how to report violations, see the Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (facebook.com/terms.php).

www.FacebookForEducators.org

We encourage you and your students to report offensive content to help keep Facebook a safe and positive place for everyone. To learn more about Facebooks rules and how to resolve problems, please visit the Facebook Safety Center ((www.facebook.com/safety)

More Resources for Facebook in Education

In addition to our Facebook for Educators Guide, we have created a series of step-by-step (free) handouts (http://facebookforeducators.org/handouts) to help you learn how to get the most out of Facebook Pages (http://facebookforeducators.org/pages) and Facebook Groups (http://facebookforeducators.org/groups), along with Pro Tips to teach you how to use the many features on Facebook in your classroom. We also invite you to join the conversation and share your best practices for using social media in the classroom with educators from around the world on our Facebook for Educators Page (www.facebook.com/FBforEducators). Facebook for Educators Guide is available in English, Spanish, German and Portuguese on www.FacebookForEducators.org and http://www.scribd.com/FacebookforEducators .

About the Authors Derek E. Baird, M.A. | http://www.debaird.net/

Derek is best known for his work in educational media, online community & understanding how kids, parents, families and teachers use the social web.

Linda Fogg Phillips | http://facebookforparents.org/

Linda is the mother of eight children ranging in ages from 12 27. She is the recognized Facebook expert for parents and educators. She is an Author and Public Speaker.

BJ Fogg, Ph.D. | http://bjfogg.com/

Behavior psychologist BJ Fogg, Ph.D., directs a research lab at Stanford and teaches courses related to Facebook. Fortune named him one of the "10 New Gurus You Should Know."

www.FacebookForEducators.org