POLICE want Facebook to ban under-18s from setting up tribute websites after launching the first prosecution of its kind of a Brisbane man accused of posting pornography on online memorials to murdered children.
Disability pensioner Bradley Paul Hampson, 29, faces up to 10 years' jail if convicted of offences relating to the defacement of Facebook memorials for Trinity Bates, 8, and Elliot Fletcher, 12, who died in separate incidents in Queensland earlier this year.
The Australian Federal Police are now negotiating with the social networking giant to prevent future acts of cyber-vandalism by so-called internet "trolls", who post offensive material to provoke outrage.
Detective Superintendent Peter Crawford, of the Child Safety and Sexual Crimes Group of Queensland police, said adults should be required to act as administrators of memorials so they could be held liable for monitoring content. The AFP has, in an effort to improve accountability, raised with Facebook the possibility of banning under-18s from setting up such sites.
Superintendent Crawford said website administrators - and not just Facebook - needed to act quickly to remove offensive material.
"I think the trolling issue will continue to be a problem in the future," he said. "We are really keen to see people who administer those sites take responsibility to ensure that material posted is of an appropriate standard."
Superintendent Crawford revealed that Queensland police had been forced to liaise with Facebook executives in San Francisco. While the organisation has a well-staffed advertising office in Australia, its local representatives insist they are not responsible for content.
"We have to make inquiries overseas for all our Facebook inquiries," he said.
Superintendent Crawford said the fact that children and teenagers sometimes set up tribute pages "presents some problems".
"These are the issues we're endeavouring to discuss with Facebook," he said. "I would rather be using (police) resources to target actual sexual offences that are being committed today, than chasing down trolls."
Mr Hampson, 29, of Tarragindi, was remanded in custody after appearing in Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday on five charges relating to possessing and distributing child exploitation material.
Magistrate Leanne O'Shea refused bail.
The police prosecutor, Sergeant Fiona Pedersen, told the court that police had raided Mr Hampson's home early yesterday and found pornographic images on his computer.
"He would appear to have some morbid fascination with deceased children and has expressed fantasies in those regards," she said.
Mr Hampson's legal aid lawyer, Katia Vandenbroucke, told the court her client had been diagnosed with autism.
Facebook said yesterday it had co-operated fully with the police.
