I received an email through my blog (blog on Internet safety), from a concerned mother whose daughter is being harassed on Facebook. From her e-mail address, I gather that she is in the UK, so COPPA doesn't provide any guidance. Here is a transcript of her email (no personal identifiable information disclosed):

Hi David,

My daughter's facebook account was accessed by some girls who have been psychologically bullying her all year. The school is unable to talk to these girls because they say that although they do believe us, they do not have any evidence which points to them. Face book and hotmail just send automated replies andwill not give out the ip addresses without a court order, and the police will not take it further as they do not see it as a priority.

We are at the end of out thether as a family and my daughter is taking exams and this is so stresssful for her- do you know if ther is any way we can find out the geographical adress of the person/s who are accessing her account?

Many thanks

Does anyone have some contact information at facebook that I may be able to forward on to her? Certainly facebook must have some abuse policy in place to prevent the kind of harassment she describes, but I was unable to locate anything to that effect. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. I can sympathize with her plight. My daughter received a lot of harassment when she was in school.

Thanks,

David