Ask.fm Overhaul Not Enough, Says Hannah's Dad

Written By Unknown on Senin, 19 Agustus 2013 | 22.11

By Siobhan Robbins, Sky News Reporter

The father of a teenager who committed suicide after allegedly being bullied online has said changes to the social networking site Ask.fm do not go far enough.

Hannah Smith, 14, was found hanged at her home in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, on August 2.

Her family believe it was a response to being targeted by cyber bullies on Ask.fm.

On Monday, Ask.fm announced a raft of changes to protect users saying: "We want our users to be able to have fun, share information, make friends and express themselves freely.

"We also want them - particularly our younger users - to be able to do this in a safe environment.

"In the light of recent events highlighting the impact online bullying and harassment can have on young people, we engaged professional advisers to conduct a full and independent audit of our site and its safety features."

The changes include a promise to review all reports of abuse within 24 hours, make the report button more visible and include a bullying and harassment abuse category.

It also pledged to employ more staff, including a dedicated safety officer, to monitor online activity.

Ask.fm home page The popular website Ask.fm is under fire

Reacting to the announcement, Hannah's father, David Smith, told Sky News the safeguards should already have been in place.

"You should never ever get to a stage of teenagers committing suicide because they are being bullied on the internet," he said.

He added: "I think they've gone far enough to make the website safe for teenagers to use but I also think they can do a bit more.

"Get rid of the anonymous bit completely, because if you're anonymous, you can bully."

In reaction to concerns about anonymous users, Ask.fm has said it will make it easier to opt out of receiving anonymous messages, limit the features unregistered users could access and ask from an email address when people signed up.

The site will start to introduce the changes from September.

Mr Smith described the weeks since his daughter's death as "hell" and said he would like an apology from the social networking site.

He is calling for legal changes to protect others, telling Sky News: "The Government needs to bring in new regulations and new laws to stop this from happening and to stop teenagers from dying."

Prime Minister David Cameron has previously asked people to boycott websites which fail to tackle online abuse.

:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 08457 90 90 90 or email jo@samaritans.org.

:: BeatBullying.org is also available for advice and support.


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