Facebook privacy policy puts 'teens at risk'

Facebook has been criticised by online safety campaigners after announcing plans to relax privacy settings for its millions of teenage users.

It will give users aged 13 to 17 – who, until now, could only share information with friends or friends of friends – the option of making posts accessible to the public.

Facebook said initial settings for under-18s would remain the same, while anyone switching would be waed they were exposed to a broader audience.

But critics say the policy change could leave youngsters on the social network, which has over 30 millions users in Britain, vulnerable.

‘We have conces that this age group can now share information in the public domain,' Anthony Smythe, managing director of BeatBullying, told The Times.

‘Something they think might not be harmful now may come back to haunt them later. This is a move in the wrong direction.

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) also expressed ‘conce' at the move.

Facebook insists it is offering more choice to tech-savvy teenagers, adding that privacy settings for the age group would automatically be programmed so posts are seen only by friends.

‘We take the safety of teens very seriously, so they will see an extra reminder before they can share publicly,' said a Facebook spokesman.

A spokesman for the National Crime Agency welcomed the announcement, saying it will help young teenagers ‘understand the consequences of what they share online'.