Police call for help to handle 'disgusting' Facebook comments
The WA Police commissioner writes to Meta to ask for assistance with Facebook moderation after a number of derogatory comments are left on social media pages.
An expert says Meta is unlikely to respond and that police are responsible for moderating their social media.
Earlier this week a photo of two young people was posted on the Dunsborough Police Facebook page with a request for information.
Col Blanch addressed the matter on ABC Radio. (ABC News: Jake Sturmer)
"But I think that would be a good corporate citizen thing to do on behalf of policing agencies," he said.
Retired police officer and e-safety expert Kristi McVee said it was up to the police to improve their social media moderation.
"Social media is such an easy medium to get an outcome and it has been very helpful in the past and that's why police use it," she said.
"But there has to be a little bit more consideration to what that could do for a young person … it could put them at risk."
Ms McVee said posts such as the one made by Dunsborough Police highlighted the perils of relying on social media to gather information from the public.
"From just looking at that image, it's obvious that these are young people, so they could have gone to their local high school," she said.
Kristi McVee says police have to work harder to moderate their online pages. (Supplied: Kristi McVee)
Ms Mcvee worked closely with Meta during her time with WA Police and said she did not believe they would fix the problem.
"I don't think they really care, to be honest — they're not working for us, they're working for their advertisers and their machines," she said.
"Innocent dissemination" laws introduced in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory in 2024 have lessened the defamation risk for publishers, but no such changes were enacted in WA.
Jacqueline McGowan‑Jones says young people need to be protected from online abuse. (Supplied: WA Commissioner for Children and Young People)
Beyond legal liability, the emotional toll of police social media posts can be high.
Commissioner for Children and Young People Jacqueline McGowan-Jones said police had some responsibility.
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