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Press & Media: Track record of online harm

A timeline of failures by the technology industry to protect its users

To understand the priorities of a company, look to their actions, not their words.

In keeping with this principle, C3P has committed to maintaining an ongoing compilation of public reports (e.g., media articles, news releases, research reports and summaries, blog posts etc.) documenting the failures and anti-social behaviours exhibited by technology companies, including social media platforms.

Collectively, these reports shed light on the devastating consequences of technology companies failing to prioritize the safety of their users, especially for vulnerable groups such as children. The contents of this timeline reinforces the urgent need for strong government regulation in digital spaces. *

Last update: 2023-06-07

PLATFORMS REFERENCED

* Other: 16% YouTube, 13% Reddit, 13% Omegle, 11% Amazon, 8% Microsoft, 5% Roblox, 5% Twitch, 5% AI, 3% Cash App, 3% Discord, 3% Epic Games, 3% Kik, 3% Pinterest, 3% Skype, 3% Yubo, 3% Zoom

† 45% of Meta cases are Facebook, 30% are Instagram, 6% are WhatsApp

SUBJECT MATTER

*Other includes encryption, non-consensual distribution of intimate images, sextortion

Date
Details
2023-05-13
TikTok Feeds Teens a Diet of DarknessSource: The Wall Street Journal
2023-02-13
Now for sale: Data on your mental healthSource: The Washington Post
2023-01-06
Apple fined 8M euros in French privacy caseSource: Politico
2023-01-04
Meta fined 390M euros in latest European privacy crackdownSource: The Associated Press
2022-12-14
Report: TikTok boosts posts about eating disorders, suicideSource: The Associated Press
2022-08-22
Inside the secret world of trading nudesSource: BBC News
2022-06-21
Meta Agrees to Alter Ad Technology in Settlement with U.S.Source: The New York Times
2022-06-13
The Fight To Hold Pornhub AccountableSource: The New Yorker
2022-06-10
White supremacists are riling up thousands on social mediaSource: The Associated Press
2022-06-09
Your kids' apps are spying on themSource: The Washington Post
2022-06-09
Facebook fails again to detect hate speech in adsSource: The Associated Press
2022-06-01
A Platform 'weaponized': how YouTube spreads harmful content- and what can be done about itSource: NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights
2022-04-28
Failure to Protect: Social media copmanies are failing to act on antisemitismSource: Center for Countering Digital Hate Inc.
2022-04-17
Instagram under fire over sexualised child imagesSource: The Guardian
2022-04-06
How Instagram fails to act on 9 in 10 reports of misogyny in DMsSource: Center for Countering Digital Hate Inc.
2022-04-06
Hidden Hate: How Instagram fails to act on 9 in 10 reports of misogyny in DMsSource: Center for Countering Digital Hate Inc.
2022-03-16
Instagram Adds Parental Controls for the First TimeSource: The Wall Street Journal
2022-03-13
Facebook Has a Child Predation ProblemSource: WIRED
2022-02-23
Inside PornhubSource: The Verge
2022-02-17
Inside Facebook's African SweatshopSource: TIME
2022-01-12
Nearly half of the accounts Twitter fails to remove for abusing women go on reoffendSource: Center for Countering Digital Hate Inc.
2021-12-30
Facebook's Metaverse: One incident of abuse and harassment every 7 minutesSource: Center for Countering Digital Hate Inc.
2021-12-07
Instagram pushes drug content to teensSource: NBC News
2021-10-24
Facebook apps used to groom 24 children every weekSource: The Telegraph
2021-10-01
When one pill killsSource: NBC News
2021-10-01
The Facebook Files: A Wall Street Journal Investigation Source: Wall Street Journal
2021-09-08
How TikTok Serves Up Sex and Drug Videos to MinorsSource: The Wall Street Journal
2020-12-04
The Children of Pornhub Source: The New York Times
2020-02-06
Pornhub Doesn’t CareSource: Vice

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