Twitter accused of failing to prevent child abuse

Child protection policies of Twitter are lagging behind other social networking websites, a British watchdog has warned.u00a0The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) accused Twitter for failing to address child abuse issues and urged the micro blogging website to address its fears that some paedophiles use the site to discuss abuse and link to pornographic images.

"They are a little bit behind some other sites that have been around a little bit longer," The BBC quoted Peter Davies, the chief executive of Ceop, as saying.u00a0"These people who have an unhealthy interest in child abuse images occupy a lot of different space on the internet - while they are allowed to be in that space," he added.

Ceop also said that there are also fears that some paedophiles have attempted to contact young teenagers through their Twitter accounts.u00a0Twitter has said that safety was a high priority and insisted it dealt with complaints as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

"When we receive a report and identify it as valid, we take action immediately," said Del Harvey, Twitter''s Director of Trust and Safety.u00a0Twitter said it is planning to have a team working 24 hours a day in order to investigate complaints.

u00a0

Social networks like Facebook and Bebo have both worked with Ceop to introduce so-called panic buttons, which allow users to report their concerns by simply clicking a single link.u00a0Twitter users, however, need to search the site for an email address to report accounts that are causing concern.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!