Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Aug 08, 2025

Social media firms 'must raise protection against harm'

Social media firms 'must raise protection against harm'

A group of young Welsh people are calling for social media platforms to improve processes for reporting harmful content.

TikTok and Meta bosses faced questions from students at Pontypridd High School in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Platforms said they listen to feedback from users and encourage them to make use of safety features.

The event was organised by Alex Davies-Jones MP as the UK government's online safety bill goes through Parliament.

"There's barely a day that goes by that I don't experience something negative", said 17-year-old Caitlin.

"I personally think social media's pretty dangerous."

Caitlin received abuse online after posting about Manchester United's Mason Greenwood


"Scrolling through TikTok yesterday and there's many challenges aimed at young girls to eat roughly 300-400 calories in a day….[and] it could trigger many eating disorders."

Many of Caitlin's attempts to report harmful content have been unsuccessful.

"I think the reporting process should be looked into a bit more, since it takes so long for things to be taken down, by the time they are taken down, the harm's already been made."

TikTok said it strictly removes content that promotes disordered eating.

Caitlin had to deal with online abuse after posting about Manchester United Footballer Mason Greenwood being arrested on suspicion of rape. He has denied the claim.


'I feel like we're being pushed back'


"I spoke about the whole Mason Greenwood situation and I got told I need to get beat up about it. "

"I feel like because of social media women's voices are being heard less, I feel like we're being pushed back a bit."

"It's kind of like a war on us in a way. It's like we can't really speak without having harm wanted against us".

Seventeen-year-old Isabelle said she sees a lot of body positive content on social media


Others highlighted positive aspects of social media, such as keeping in touch with friends and self-love campaigns.

"There's a lot of body positive things that go around now that never used to," said 17-year-old Isabelle.

Pupils working on a project to improve online safety were given the chance to quiz tech giants at a virtual event.

Megan Thomas from Meta, Facebook's parent company, and TikTok's Alexandra Evans spoke to the pupils about harmful content


"Young people feel it is very difficult to report and remove upsetting content. How can you make this process easier?" asked 13-year-old Brooke.

TikTok's head of safety public policy in Europe, Alexandra Evans, said she thinks the platforms reporting mechanisms are "intuitive" but welcomes feedback from users on how they are struggling.


Blocking functions


She also highlighted blocking functions: "For example, if you don't like the word 'hate' or 'loser', whatever it may be, you can set a list of words that you will always get filtered from your comments."

Megan Thomas, public policy associate manager at Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said the company has recently developed new features "designed to help prevent people from having to experience any kind of harmful content on our platforms in the first place."

The UK government says its Online Safety Bill will "deliver major improvements to the safety of women and girls"


Poppi, 13, wanted to know how many offensive posts are taken down each day, and what consequences are in place for repeat offenders.

Both representatives said they did not know the daily figure, but pointed to quarterly reports.

"There's a spectrum of harm, there's a spectrum of behaviours and we try to be really specific in our responses", said TikTok's Ms Evans.

"But also when it comes to those egregious cases, when it comes to those absolute zero-tolerance behaviours, we are all working together to make sure that we are responding and stamping out that kind of activity across all of our platforms."

New online safety laws are being introduced by the UK government, but Labour MP for Pontypridd and shadow technology minister Alex Davies-Jones warned of "loopholes" in the legislation,

A UK government spokesperson said: "Our pioneering Online Safety Bill will already deliver major improvements to the safety of women and girls from criminalising cyber flashing to protecting young girls from harmful content."

They added that failure to act by social media companies could result in heavy fines.


Teenagers said they had come across bullying left in social media comments


Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
×