CHILDREN who face online predators or cyberbullies on social network Facebook now have a way to report these incidents – a panic button can be added to their profiles.

Britain’s Child Exploitation and Protection Centre (CEOP) has previously requested the social network to add a button allowing young users to report suspicious behaviour while engaged in activities on the network.

Earlier, Facebook had rejected calls from the previous administration, including appeals from former Home Secretary Alan Johnson and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, to have a CEOP button on each child’s profile page, reported London’s Daily Telegraph.

In March, The Times reported that serial sex offender Peter Chapman used Facebook to groom teenager Ashleigh Hall, a 17-year-old student, whom he kidnapped, raped and murdered.

Facebook has now added a link to CEOP within its Safety Centre.

Young Facebook users can also add the CEOP Facebook application at http://apps.facebook.com/clickceop/.

CEOP chief executive Jim Gamble said the deal had taken time to finalise.

He said: “Our dialogue with Facebook about adopting the ClickCEOP button is well documented – today however is a good day for child protection. By adding this application, Facebook users will have direct access to the services that should provide reassurance to every parent with teenagers on the site.”

Children who add the ClickCEOP application will be offered advice on dealing with bullying or unwelcome advances and be able to report them.

Other social networks like Bebo and Microsoft’s MSN Chat have already offered the ClickCEOP button.

CEOP claims that its efforts have safeguarded 624 children since it was set up four years ago and more than 1,100 arrests have been made.