<p>
	Facebook and Twitter have admitted they cannot prevent young children from setting up secret accounts that can be used for cyberbullying.</p>
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	The minimum age for activating most social media accounts is 13 - but it has now emerged this is almost impossible to police.</p>
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	Facebook executive Simon Milner was addressing a major cyberbullying conference in Dublin Castle.</p>
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	He said action is taken if illegal use of the site by minors is reported, but this can be very difficult to monitor.</p>
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	&quot;We know we don&#39;t always get it right, but we have established what are know as Insafe Hotlines around Europe to help,&quot; he said.</p>
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	&quot;This is not particularly well known. We operate zero tolerance as re gards bullying and harassment,&quot; he added.</p>
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	&quot;We&#39;ve been working with teaching bodies for more than a year on these hotlines in a bid to deal with cyberbullying, and improve access for school management and staff,&#39;&#39; said Mr Milner, who is Facebook&#39;s organisational director of policy for the UK, Middle East and Africa.</p>
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	This approach also takes account of cyberbullying suicidal threats and the use of inappropriate photographs.</p>
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	However, it emerged the site does not have a mechanism for school principals to directly access Facebook management in cases where suicide could be a risk.</p>
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	Mr Milner said most examples of bullying were linked to the use of photographs.</p>
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	He also said that if issues cannot be resolved between the parties involved, law enforcement agencies were contacted.</p>
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	&quot;We are trying to make Facebook as simple as possible - and easy to control,&#39;&#39; he said.</p>
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	He pointed out that there were tools on the site to remove threatening and violent content.</p>
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	&quot;We advise parents and educators to keep calm when dealing with bullying.&quot;</p>
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	Patricia Cartes, head of Global Safety Outreach Public Policy at Twitter, also admitted that the company does not know who is under 13.</p>
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	&quot;We haven&#39;t found a silver bullet in the online industry to meaningfully verify age,&quot; she said.</p>
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	Both speakers were addressing a national conference on the theme &#39;Understanding and Managing Cyberbullying&#39; in Dublin Castle, organised by Bully4U and the Anti-Bullying Centre at Dublin City University.</p>
<p>
	Geoffrey Shannon, the special rapporteur on Child Protection, said it was vital the law kept pace with technology. Current legislation dates back to 1997.</p>
<p>
	Clive Byrne of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, called for more funding to train teachers in this area and improved school guidelines for parents.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/facebook-and-twitter-cant-stop-children-setting-up-secret-accounts-30553674.html">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/facebook-and-twitter-cant-stop-children-setting-up-secret-accounts-30553674.html</a></p>
