In a recent article in the Vancouver Province,  Jeff Melland asks some extremely pertinent questions.

No-one could say that Facebook supports bullying, in fact, as the article points out “The terms-of-service agreement users sign when they join up prohibits such behaviour, and the site allows users to report anyone posting abusive or offensive content.”

They even have a mechanism for kids to report bullying. Targeted users who wish to report abuse to Facebook can also choose to include a trusted authority figure, such as a teacher or parent, as a contact in that incident

And, they have created a Facebook page called ‘Be Bold, Stop Bullying Canada’ where adults can take a stand against bullying.

But does it go far enough? If Facebook can gather information from our posts as an added value to advertisers, why can’t they also mine the language of bullying and stop it cold? If the bullies find that their posts disappear almost as soon as they are written they will stop. It’s actually that simple.

The article by Melland got me interested. Then in today’s Vancouver Sun, I saw an article about a new tool, which will allow them to measure sale information for advertisers.

The point, the real point, is that Facebook can troll through posts and gather information. They can identify trends. And they can shut down problem posts and members.

If it’s a question of who will pay for this service, surely Facebook could simply take it on as a philanthropic measure. If it is successful the need for this will die almost as soon as it begins.

Our job as corporate citizens, as caring adults, as parents and grandparents is to protect our children.

Facebook, go for it!