ask.fm owners offer to hand over information over Hannah Smith trolls to police as advertisers pull spend
Ask.fm’s owners has offered to hand over information about some of the abusive trolls involved in Hannah Smith's death, following a number of advertisers withdrawing their spend.
The site’s owners, brothers Mark and Ilja Terebin, released an open letter as a result of the growing unrest at the behaviour of its users.
“Although it is possible to post anonymously to the site, we would like to reassure parents that in almost all cases it is possible for Ask.fm to identify users – through IP technology, everything on the internet is traceable – and in extreme circumstances such as those we’ve experienced this week we work through existing legal frameworks to ensure this information is accessible to the appropriate legal authorities,” they stated.
The tribute Facebook website for Smith has also been removed having been targeted by abusive messages, after a link was posted on the website 4 Chan that outlined a plot to target the grieving family and friends of the teenager.
The statement continued to claim that the ‘vast majority’ of the site’s users were “very happy teenagers, who use Ask.fm to converse with their peers around the world about the things that interest them.”
It added: “Bullying is an age-old problem that we in no way condone – and while its evolution online is disturbing, it certainly is not unique to our site.
“We will continue to work with the appropriate organisations to safeguard against bullying on Ask.fm – and we would welcome the opportunity to align with the rest of industry and society in fighting it on a higher level.
“We are proud of the phenomenal popularity of the social network we have created and strive every day to make it better and safer.”
Yesterday, Hannah’s father called for the owners of the site to be charged with the manslaughter of his daughter.
Advertisers such as Save the Children, Specsavers, Laura Ashley and Vodafone have so far moved to remove their advertising through the website.
Tony Neate, CEO of getsafeonline.org, told The Drum: “The internet is an extension of our social lives, and unfortunately bullying takes place online as well as in the physical world. In fact, people can be far bolder when sat behind the safety of their screen and say things they wouldn’t dream of saying in real life – especially when they are able to post anonymously.
“Previously, when school broke up for the summer young people could get away from bullies, but with the internet there is often no escape for victims. It is therefore an important issue to address," he added.
Neate added that his organisation asked people to learn the differences between the different social networks and to decide carefully which ones they wish to use.
“We would recommend only joining a social network which has strong security settings to protect your information, and which gives the user the ability to connect only with people they know and trust in real life. Of course this does not eradicate bullying but it doesn’t leave us quite so open to threatening or harmful messages from people we don’t even know.
“If you do find yourself to be a victim of bullying online, from someone you do or don’t know, it’s important to follow the same rules as if it was happening at school or in the workplace and tell someone what is happening. This could be a friend, family member, an organisation like Beatbullying, or even the Police if it is an issue of real concern," he concluded.
Should this subject affect yourself or any other young person you know, then ChildLine can be contacted on 0800 1111.