Ask.fm introduces stringent new features to address cyber-bullying on website

Dodged with cyber-bullying accusations, social-networking website Ask.fm has announced changes to its safety policy. The portal where users can ask each other questions anonymously had been under attack following the death of a user who was allegedly bullied on it.

The website has announced that it has added categories of “bullying” and “harassment” to its safety report form and has pushed the “report” button to the fore on profiles and questions. Other categories of reporting abuse include “spam or scam”, “hate speech”, “violence” and “pornographic content”. Ask.fm also added that it was committing itself to responding to all reported content within 24 hours to avoid any mishaps stemming from abusive posts.

Answering questions about cyber-bullying (Image credit: Getty Images)

Ask.fm will also be massively cutting down on features unregistered users can access in a bid to make users more responsible for their actions. The website works on the question-answer format and let’s users ask anyone questions anonymously and receive answers for them. The ability to ask questions was a feature available to anyone on the Internet without registering for the service. While it is unclear whether Ask.fm will continue employing this feature, it has announced that users who have signed up for the service will now be required to provide the site with their email addresses as well.

The Latvia-based website came under fire, especially in the UK, after a 14-year-old girl named Hannah Smith allegedly killed herself after facing instances of bullying on the website. Ask.fm also promised that it would hire more staff and safety officers to moderate comments on the site and raise the visibility of a feature that allows users to opt out of receiving anonymous questions. The features are expected to roll out completely in September.