Facebook on Thursday announced that it will soon implement an upgrade to its reporting system that allows users to notify someone they trust if they are the victim of bullying or online harrassment.
Social network Formspring, meanwhile, is also teaming up with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab to develop a tool that will detect problematic and harrassing language on the site.
The companies' announcements were made in conjunction with the White House Conference on Bullying Prevention, which kicked off this morning. President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama opened the event, where the president encouraged attendees to help "dispel the myth that bullying is just a harmless rite of passage." He noted that text messages and social networks make it easier for bullying to follow a student home, and announced the creation of stopbullying.gov, a site that will have resources for parents, teachers, and students.
The Obamas appeared in a video message (below) on Wednesday, which was posted to Facebook. "We're seeing how harmful [bullying] can be for our kids, especially when it follows them from their school to their phone to their computer screen," President Obama said.
To that end, Facebook plans to make some changes to its reporting system. The site has long had the ability to report offensive photos or Wall posts, but the social-networking site will soon extend this reporting functionality to Profiles, Groups, Pages and Events. Facebook will also add the option to notify a trusted source - like a parent or teacher - of bad behavior.
Facebook has dubbed the feature "social reporting." Going forward, if you click "Report" on a photo, for example, a pop-up window will appear asking if the photo is about you. If it is, you can select "I don't like this photo" or "This photo is harrassing or bullying me."
If you select the latter, Facebook will provide the option to block the person who posted the offending photo or "Get help from a trusted friend," which will let you forward the photo to someone who can help you in person. If that option is selected, you can enter an e-mail address or an existing Facebook friend, customize a message about the photo, and send.
"Social reporting is a way for people to quickly and easily ask for help from someone they trust," Facebook said in a statement. "Safety and child psychology experts tell us that online issues are frequently a reflection of what is happening offline. By encouraging people to seek help from friends, we hope that many of these situations can be resolved face to face."
Facebook also said it will boost the amount of content available on its Safety Center.
"In the next few weeks, we will incorporate new educational videos, external resources from renowned experts, downloadable materials for people to share and discuss, and more," Facebook said. "We're also looking to teens to get their perspective and advice on using technology wisely."
Formspring, meanwhile, is working with MIT on a system that will detect offensive comments.
Henry Lieberman, principal research scientist at the Media Lab, was at today's conference to demonstrate his team's research approach, which includes applying the Lab's insights around natural language recognition to determine the meaning behind words. Formspring said it provided the MIT team with data, internal insights, and a donation to the program to support its ongoing research.
"There is a real opportunity to put innovation to work in solving the problem of online bullying, and our work at the Media Lab represents a first step in what we believe can result in powerful solutions for social networks, educators, parents and of course, teens," Lieberman said in a statement.
Formspring, which has more than 22 million members, made headlines last year when it was linked the tragic suicide of a Long Island, New York teen.