Tester And Facebook Gather For Online Safety Event

KALISPELL, Mont. — As cyber bullying continues to be an ever-growing problem in our nation, Montana senator Jon Tester sat down with Facebook officials who say their site is truly a neighborhood watchdog program.

The senator as well as Kalispell administrators and representatives from Facebook gathered at Flathead High School for the online safety seminar. Facebook says any user can report a problem to personnel that monitor the site 24-7.

"Cause when you're your real self and when the other people around you are their real self you can have real accountability,” said Facebook representative Corey Owens, “So if I think someone is saying something offensive, if I think he's bullying someone – I can report it on Facebook. Because I know who he is and Facebook knows who I am. So there's a real method of accountability."

Facebook reports that there are over 800 million active users in the world, 160 million in the US, and 460,000 in Montana. In terms of cyber bullying, Montana is only one of two states that has yet define a true law regarding the crime.