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Parents Log On to Facebook to Protect Their Children From Sexual Predators
Nurfika Osman | February 17, 2010

Parents are taking matters into their own hands as concerns mount that social networking Web sites, such as the increasingly popular Facebook, are being used by sexual predators to target children and teenagers. Parents are taking matters into their own hands as concerns mount that social networking Web sites, such as the increasingly popular Facebook, are being used by sexual predators to target children and teenagers.
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As police investigate several recent cases involving sexual predators on Facebook, concerned parents across Jakarta are taking matters into their own hands to protect their children — even if it means violating their privacy.

Nanni Purnama, an East Jakarta mother of three, including two teenage girls, told the Jakarta Globe that she already had access to her children’s accounts on the popular social networking site.

“I know their passwords,” she said. “They also have access to each other’s Facebook accounts.”

“I want all three of them to be open to their parents, as well as to their siblings. I have to know who their friends are and what they put up on Facebook,” she added.

Nanni said she also conducted periodical “surprise inspections” of her children’s cellphones, reading through their text messages and going over their incoming and outgoing calls.

“I am doing this to protect my children from those who have the power to harm them,” she said. “They should have nothing to hide from me.”

Nanni’s youngest child, Fathur, 12, said that unlike his sisters, Irin, 17, and Bella, 15, the only reason he had a Facebook account was because he was asked to open one as part of his computer class at school.

“My mother does not allow me to confirm friend requests on Facebook from people I don’t know,” he said. “All my Facebook friends are just friends from school or from extracurricular activities, such as futsal.”

Evie Komarwati, a mother of four, including a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl, said she had taught all of her children to have zero tolerance for strangers on Facebook.

“I recently opened a Facebook account myself — I needed to know how it works,” she said.

Evie, however, said that she did not have access to her children’s accounts.

“I have told my children not to reveal any private information on Facebook because it may invite the wrong kinds of people to befriend them,” she added.

Eri Mulyasari, who has a 10-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, said she had access to her daughter’s Facebook account, but not her son’s.

“They are only allowed to use Facebook on weekends and holidays,” she said.

Seto Mulyadi, chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak), said he had so far received 100 complaints — mainly from Jakarta, Surabaya and Solo — about the negative impacts of Facebook.

The commission’s secretary general, Arist Merdeka Sirait, said that sexual predators posed a real threat on the Internet.

“Some criminals sell their victims, some use them for their own sexual needs and some [victims] are kidnapped,” he said.