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Microsoft Puts Police Link on Messenger

SirClicksalot writes "Microsoft is working together with the UK Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre to help protect Windows Live Messenger Users. UK users will be able to report suspected sexual predators directly to the police. From the article: 'Microsoft will add a "report abuse" icon to Messenger that will link any users worried about their anonymous internet buddies directly to online police services. Set up earlier this year to provide a single point of contact for the public, law enforcers and the communications industry to report the targeting of children online, CEOP offers advice and information to parents and potential victims of abuse and works with police forces around the world to protect children.'"

33 of 253 comments (clear)

  1. abuse by User+956 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Microsoft is working together with the UK Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre to help protect Windows Live Messenger Users. UK users will be able to report suspected sexual predators directly to the police.

    Oh yeah, I can't see this being abused at all. Especially by teenagers just screwing around.

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
    1. Re:abuse by Whiney+Mac+Fanboy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Oh yeah, I can't see this being abused at all. Especially by teenagers just screwing around.

      Damn straight. We're going to see a story about the dossing of Britains online police services before the dupe of this story appears. (imagine a lol, I'm not a sexual predator worm)

      --
      There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
    2. Re:abuse by niceone · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It'll be interesting to see how this plays out - isn't there are crime called "wasting police time" or something? Can you be prosecuted for clicking that icon without good cause?

    3. Re:abuse by bwthomas · · Score: 5, Interesting

      In the US we have something called 'filing a false police report' or something similar, and as i recall it actually has some pretty scary consequences associated with it, all things considered. It would stand to reason that the UK has something analogous.

    4. Re:abuse by 56ker · · Score: 5, Informative

      IANAL but,:-

      "
      Wasting police time - section 5(2) Criminal Law Act 1967

      (Archbold 28-224)

      The offence of wasting police time is committed when a person

              * causes any wasteful employment of the police by
              * knowingly making to any person a false report orally or in writing tending to:
              * show that an offence has been committed; or,
              * give rise to apprehension for the safety of any persons or property; or,
              * show that he has information material to any police inquiry.

      It is a summary only offence carrying a maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment and/or a level 4 fine.

      The public interest will favour a prosecution in any one of the following circumstances:-

              * police resources have been diverted for a significant period (for example 10 hours);
              * a substantial cost is incurred, for example a police helicopter is used or an expensive scientific examination undertaken;
              * when the false report is particularly grave or malicious;
              * considerable distress is caused to a person by the report;
              * the accused knew, or ought to have known, that police resources were under particular strain or diverted from a particularly serious inquiry;
              * there is significant premeditation in the making of the report;
              * the report is persisted in, particularly in the face of challenge.

      "

      Just in case you were wondering a level 4 fine is £2500.

      That's from the Crown Prosecution Service's website.

    5. Re:abuse by Whiney+Mac+Fanboy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      something called 'filing a false police report' or something similar, and as i recall it actually has some pretty scary consequences associated with it

      I don't think a worm (or someone prepared to make one) is going to be afraid of the consequences, regardless of the jurisdiction.

      --
      There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
    6. Re:abuse by jc42 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      More importantly, can you be prosecuted when a piece of malware 'clicks' the button?

      And its best if you're using wifi, and you've covered yourself (and your IP address) by turning off security. As the recent case showed, with an open access point, you can simply say "It wasn't me; it could have been any neighbor using my wireless" and the prosecution won't have much an argument, because you'll be telling the literal truth.

      At least here in the US, almost everyone has just a single IP address for everything past their modem, so everything using your wifi will have the same address, and there's no way at all to prove which of the many computers in the neighborhood may have clicked that button.

      If you're on an open wireless AP, you can accuse as many people you want of as many crimes as you want, and nobody can prove it was you.

      --
      Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
    7. Re:abuse by ari{Dal} · · Score: 5, Informative

      Charges for filing false police reports are all fine and good, but how much do you think that's going to mitigate circumstances?

      Eg:

      "Headline news: Alleged pedophile Joe Sixpack arrested and detained after revolutionary new feature in MSN allows users to report for soliciting sex from underaged kids."

      Two months later, page 38, buried somewhere beneath an ad for preperation H: "Joe Sixpack acquitted of all charges. Fanny Jones arrested for filing a false police report."

      Once you're accused of being a pedophile, the damage is already done.

      --
      Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo - H. G. Wells
    8. Re:abuse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      thats a good idea. they should also provide all the searches done under that ip through msn. Maybe microsoft could create an api so other search engines such as google could supply the searches related to that user/ip. Amazon too could supply any purchases that have been made such as something incriminating such as the novel Lolita.

  2. direct to police?! by Speare · · Score: 5, Insightful

    One of the most convenient ways of destroying someone's life forever is to hint that they're a pedd-o to the police. One of the least credible sources of information is through chat and blog and instant message internet services. This sounds like a great way to completely twist the whole of society tightly around the axle for years to come.

    --
    [ .sig file not found ]
    1. Re:direct to police?! by assassinator42 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And what happens if the user fakes what the other person said? Or does MSN messenger keep logs on the server of all open conversations?

  3. predator detection by flidigital · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Microsoft and everyone else has more important things to do than build 'predator features' into their software.

  4. I Foresee Great Uselessness by Oddster · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Anybody else greatly reminded of the Warning feature on AIM? No, people aren't going to screw around with this at all, everybody will be fair and sensible and only use it when justified.

  5. I can imagine it... by UbuntuDupe · · Score: 5, Funny

    LilJen1992 says:
    __OMG LIEK TEHER IS SUM RILLY CREPY CHAP TAH WANTS ME TO ... UGHGHGHGH!!!!11
    Constable Nigel says:
    __4 ril?
    LilJen1992 says:
    __Yeh he is so grss!!!1
    Constable Nigel says:
    __kk jess gimme his s/n

    1. Re:I can imagine it... by Tackhead · · Score: 5, Funny
      LilJen1992 says:
      __OMG LIEK TEHER IS SUM RILLY CREPY CHAP TAH WANTS ME TO ... UGHGHGHGH!!!!11
      Constable Nigel says:
      __4 ril?
      LilJen1992 says:
      __Yeh he is so grss!!!1
      Constable Nigel says:
      __kk jess gimme his s/n

      LilJen1992 says:
      __kk its 111-111-111 plz kick hiz ass 4 me.

      Constable Nigel says:
      __aight i put on my uniform and bobby hat.

      LilJen1992 says:
      __What the f*ck, again?

      Constable Nigel says:
      __damn I still gotta write down your names or something.

  6. And This Works How? by nbannerman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I have three seperate accounts I use to log into MSN Messenger's services, via passport.

    Only one of them contains any personal information about me. The other two, which are in use most often, are full of completely bogus information.

    Hypothetically speaking, where exactly would any online 'police service' get in such a situation? I think this has the potential to be a good idea, but I'm curious to see how many resources are going to be thrown behind this, given how easy it is to enter completely false data from the word go.

    1. Re:And This Works How? by Azarael · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Because M$ could send them your ip as well. If they keep any kind of logs of which IP you generally access MSN from, they could do at least as good of a job as the RIAA does (lucky you). Unless you always use a good proxy, there is a pretty good chance they could figure out who you are, if they tried.

  7. Thank goodness ! by TractorBarry · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well thank goodness for that.

    At last someone is thinking of the children.

    --
    Sky subscribers are morons. They pay to be advertised at !
    1. Re:Thank goodness ! by spun · · Score: 5, Funny

      At last someone is thinking of the children.

      I thought that was the problem...

      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  8. Wonderful waste of resources by syousef · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We already have ways of reporting pedophiles. You can pick up the phone, you can write a letter, or you can walk into a police station. It doesn't need to be made any easier. Why don't people do this? Because their confidence in the police is low. They think the police either won't act for lack of evidence(in which case it can be a waste of time or worse the police might acuse them of making the situation up), or the police may over-react to information given and you could ruin someone's life based on a vague suspicion.

    What you need to do is increase confidence in the police by making sure they always respond appropriately to legitimate complaints. Adding a "report a pedo" form is just plain silly.

    --
    These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
  9. "Honestly officer, I didn't know it's illegal..." by Nereus · · Score: 5, Funny
    From TFA:
    In June, a 21-year-old media student from Surrey became the first person to be convicted of child grooming offences...
    Caught in possession of a child with perfectly styled hair and dapper clothing?
  10. By who's defnition? by nurb432 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So now you can rat out anyone you feel like, even when they do nothing wrong just beacuse you are an ass.

    Bring down the man on them.. Good way to scare away users.

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  11. Add to /. by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Funny
    Perhaps /. can add this kind of "feature" as a moderation?
    • +3 Funny
    • -2 Predator
    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  12. They need more than this by ScooterBill · · Score: 5, Funny

    How about a button that alerts the IRS? or the SEC when someone on a stock chat room brags about something not quite legal? or the private investigator that's checking up on the housewife who seems to be having a bit too much fun online...

  13. Monty Python version by Megane · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...you click on the button, then John Cleese appears in a London bobby's uniform. "Wot's all this, then?"

    (not to be confused with the Young Ones version where Neil appears in a London bobby's uniform saying "Woah, like chill out, man.")

    --
    #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
  14. Based on abuse of AIM "warn" button.... by Jtheletter · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This will be heavily abused by kids just messing with each other. Yeah, no one would ever click this button as a joke on their friend. Without some sort of punishment for abuse of the system by the submitter this will work the same as blanket phone wiretaps - simply increase the size of the haystack in which one is searching for a needle.

    --
    -- I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist. It's not my fault that life sucks so much. --
  15. Hello Officer? This is Skynet by Foofoobar · · Score: 3, Funny

    Can't wait for the first messenger worm to start reporting everyone on your buddies list as sexual predators.

    --
    This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is mine.
  16. Re:"Honestly officer, I didn't know it's illegal.. by legoburner · · Score: 4, Informative

    just in case this term has not made it across the pond yet, grooming in that context means preparing someone for an adult relationship - eg; convincing them that they want to try something which they otherwise would not have.

  17. Yet Another Reason... by andrewd18 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Yet another reason to use something other than MSN for instant messaging chat programs.
    1. Integrates with my MSN Passport so people can link my screen name to location information about me.
    2. Shows everybody the e-mail address I registered with; whee!
    3. Smileys that were beaten with the ugly stick (although not as bad as the 1990's-esque AIM smileys)
    4. Integrates with Outlook Express so that I can't turn it off if I'm e-mailing (unless I hack the registry)
    5. xxxsmgpwnagexxx and kittyluv1492 can now label me as a sexual predator with a click of a button
  18. bad idea by moxley · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think that this is a horrible idea that can only serve to weaken online privacy (what little there is left), security (these days being secure to me means being protected from harassment or worse from the police state as much as being protected from normal criminals).

    I think that everyone who has said that this will be abused by idiots and kids is right, for the most part - but my real problem is that this is a first step to eroding anonymity (or semi-anonymity) online, because once that button has been there for a little while, then the authorities can say - "Well, we now need every IP to be verifiably tied to an ID because online police buttons might be pushed and we can't go throught trying to figure out who all of these sceennames are."

  19. Re:"Honestly officer, I didn't know it's illegal.. by QCompson · · Score: 3, Insightful
    And that's a crime?
    Of course it's a crime. It's someone chatting with someone underage online. Actually communicating with them! And although they may not have committed a crime yet, they are surely going to in the future. Therefore, it's better to arrest them now and get it over with. Thought-crimes and future-crimes are fun to bust, and the public just loves it!
  20. Ah sex crimes.. by crossmr · · Score: 3, Funny

    They stick like shit. They're honestly the worst policed, and worst handled crime out there. Societies reaction to them only compounds the issue.

    Given the stigma attached to them in just about any society going, they should be handled like a black ops. There should be an immediate gag order on the proceedings from the time of the complaint until a verdict is reached unlesss an extreme need can be proven for otherwise.

    I lost count but I was keeping track of all the false rape and other claims being made from the beginning of the year. www.dailyrotten.com is great for that. All the stories where "Woman cries rape..oh wait..video evidence provided shows she was shooting a porn film" kind of stories, and other stuff.

    I've now required that any woman I'm to have sex with have a form filled out in triplicate, with 4 witnesses and then notorized. I usually require this being taped by a neutral third party. Usually I just arrange to have sex at the police station with at least 2 officers watching so that all is legit.

    Back to the black ops. Any reporter found releasing information about an arrest or trial about a sex crime before its concluded should be shot as an example. If the claim is found to be outright false, the complainant should be subject to no less than 5 years in jail. If its not guilty, everyone gets a cookie and goes home.

    The amount of stories I've read about teenagers who've accused a teacher of a sex crime then x amount of years later turned around and said "Oh.. we uh..made it up" is ridiculous. This tool serves no purpose other than to further this type of behaviour.

  21. Re:Tried as an adult or juvenile? by Achromatic1978 · · Score: 3, Funny
    Trial as an adult

    Oh, wouldn't that be deliciously ironic - being tried as an adult for using a feature that implies you are a child...