Ofcom has announced new draft guidance aimed at improving the online safety of women and girls in response to increasing reports of online abuse. The guidance targets various forms of online violence, including misogyny, domestic abuse, and harassment. This initiative comes at a time when many female content creators, including influencer Miah Carter, have spoken out about the detrimental impact of online trolling on their mental health and wellbeing.

Miah Carter, a 21-year-old TikTok influencer with 3.3 million followers, has shared her experience with online abuse, stating, “the trolling I get is disgusting.” In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Carter discussed the emotional toll of receiving abusive comments daily, including some that encouraged self-harm. “When I first started social media, my following came really quickly. With that, the hate 0 came coming in,” she said, reflecting on her struggles with mental health and suicidal thoughts earlier in her career. Today, she has learned to ignore much of the abuse and delete harmful comments when she can, but she still calls for greater accountability from tech companies.

Ofcom’s chief executive, Dame Melanie Dawes, highlighted the significance of the draft guidelines when they were released on a Tuesday in October 2023. According to her, if adopted by tech firms, these guidelines would form a “proper blueprint” for enhancing safety for women and girls online. The measures proposed include “abusability” testing to identify potential exploitations of services, user prompts to reconsider posting abusive comments, and improved account control options for users who experience harassment. Additionally, the guidelines suggest removing geolocation data by default and training moderation teams to address online domestic abuse more effectively.

In the current climate, the call for stronger protections has been echoed by others in the field. Harriet Maynard, another content creator who focuses on parenting and lifestyle, shared her perspective on the prevalence of negative messages she receives. “When a video of mine goes viral, I receive an influx of negative messages, primarily from men,” she noted. Maynard commented on the absence of formal mechanisms for addressing harassment, contrasting it with conditions in traditional work environments, where HR departments manage such issues.

Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales, praised Ofcom’s move as a crucial step forward for tech companies in addressing online abuse, urging them to implement the recommendations effectively. Professor Clare McGlynn, an expert in sexual violence and online abuse regulation, was more sceptical, flagging that tech platforms often comply with the minimum legal requirements. She argued for a more robust approach to regulation, suggesting that some recommendations from the draft guidance should be made legally binding.

Dame Melanie acknowledged that women face higher risks of online harms, stating that reports show they are five times more likely than men to be victims of intimate image abuse. However, she emphasised that the guidance was not aimed at pitting women against men but rather fostering a healthier online culture for all users. “The misogyny that’s becoming normalised in some parts of the internet, that’s not great for boys,” she expressed.

As the conversation around online safety for women continues, Miah Carter articulated a desire for tech companies to step up their efforts: “I’d like to see tech companies do more. Right now, reporting hate often leads nowhere,” she said, advocating for stricter enforcement and punitive measures against harmful behaviours. In a statement to the BBC, Meta, the company behind Instagram and Facebook, reinforced its commitment to removing violent language, disabling accounts involved in serious threats, and collaborating with safety organisations to enhance their responses to harassment. The BBC has reached out to other major social media platforms, such as TikTok and X, for their comments regarding the draft guidelines.

Source: Noah Wire Services