Facebook to launch 'panic button' to report sex offenders

London, July 12 (ANI): Facebook is all set to launch a child safety 'panic button' on its site for users to report sexual abuse.

The button would help users to report abuse to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) and Facebook.

Ceop, the government law enforcement agency tasked with tracking down online sex offenders, called for a panic button to be installed on social networking sites last November.

Pressure mounted on Facebook to make the change following the rape and murder of 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall by a 33-year-old convicted sex offender, posing as a teenage boy, who she met on Facebook.

"By adding this application, Facebook users will have direct access to all the services that sit behind our ClickCeop button which should provide reassurance to every parent with teenagers on the site," BBC News quoted Jim Gamble, Ceop's chief executive, as saying. (ANI)