The suicide of Lindsay, 13, harassed on social networks, moved France last month. Following this tragedy, L’Oeil du 20h wanted to know how the platforms fight against these abuses on a daily basis. How is content controlled and is it still effective?
Clara, 16, says she went through hell because of social media. The teenager is present on many platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook, etc.
She testifies to alert: “It is to say that my image is no longer scary, even if I take remarks and insults, I have nothing to do with it”.
“You don’t deserve to live”
Two years ago, she sent nude photos of herself to her then-boyfriend. pphotos then posted on social networks without his consent. She will suffer an avalanche of insults : “They insulted me with all the names, whore. I was told: “you don’t deserve to live”. I felt dirty. I had lost all confidence in myself. I absolutely hated my body. I really wanted to die even though I was young and had my whole life ahead of me.” confides the teenager to us.
This harassment, Clara had reported to the moderators of social networks, supposed to control the content of the publications. In vain. “I reported the accounts sending me the photos and messages, but the accounts were still active, there was nothing at all,” she regrets.
So are reports always taken into account? How do they work? I decided to do the test myself. On Tiktok, Snapchat and Instagram, the networks most used by young people.
I created several anonymous profiles and sent myself harassing messages, not chosen by chance. Insults and threats that have been the subject of convictions in previous cases, such as: “If I meet you, you’re dead. I will catch you. I will find you, I have your photos”. I reported these messages 2 weeks ago, using the form provided for this purpose. Two weeks later, the anonymous accounts are still active. They have not been suspended. And I have no feedback on my reports.
Contacted, the 3 platforms have so far not all responded to my requests for interviews. Tiktok did not respond. Snapchat emailed me : “vsis surely too short in terms of time”. Only Instagram owner Meta sent me this response: “We have approximately 40,000 people dedicated to security and user protection issues, including approximately 15,000 content moderators, and have invested more than $16 billion since 2016 in this area.”
“We received threats, insults and death threats on Snapchat”
Faced with the lack, sometimes, of reactions from social networks, families turn to 3018, a free number, managed by an association and in particular supported by the State. She helps victims of online harassment. That day, a mother calls, concerning her son, being harassed on Snapchat. “These are threats, I’m going to put a bullet in your … I pass you, you’re just a … anyway, Wednesday I’m going to catch you”, alarmed the mother of the family.
About twenty teleoperators receive dozens of calls a day. On the day of our shoot, un 14 year old asks for help. “We had a problem on Tiktok. We received threats of insults and death threats”, warns the teenager. “We will be able to report your situation to Tiktok”, replies the listener.
By calling 3018, victims hope for a faster reaction from the platforms. The association is in partnership with certain social networks: “People call us and tell us that I have been receiving messages for two or three weeks, that I am being blackmailed, I report the account but nothing has changed. Often I am told that. It’s a problem but we are here to support the report, going through us it has a little more weight”.
In the event of cyber harassment, it is advisable not to respond, to keep the evidence, and to file a complaint, because it is an offence, punishable by 2 years in prison and 30,000 euros in fines.