Meta, Snap, and TikTok Team Up to Combat Suicide and Self-Harm Online: Share ‘Signals’ – Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), Snap (NYSE:SNAP)

Meta Platforms, Inc. FINISH, Snap Ltd. SNAPAND ByteDance-property TikTok announced a joint initiative to combat content promoting suicide and self-harm on the internet.

What happened:On Thursday, the tech giants launched a new program called Prosperthe aim of which is to stop the dissemination of graphic content depicting or encouraging self-harm and suicide.

Thrive allows them to exchange “signals” to notify each other about this type of content on their platforms.

The Mental Health Coalition, a charity whose mission is to combat the stigma surrounding mental health discussions, partnered with three companies to develop the initiative.

See also: GOP lawmaker defends Google in antitrust trial: ‘Punishing them for trying to be a good business? That’s crazy’

According to a blog post shared by Meta, the tech giant has already taken steps to make such content less accessible on its platform. “Between April and June of this year, we took action on over 12 million pieces of suicide and self-harm content across Facebook and Instagram:

However, the purpose of the site is to provide users with a space where they can share their experiences with mental health, suicide and self-harm, provided they do not promote or post graphic descriptions of these issues.

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Why does it matter: This initiative comes in the wake of growing concerns about the safety of social media platforms for young users. Last year in November, whistleblower Meta raised the alarm about the safety of Instagram for teens.

Similarly, in January 2024, the Iowa attorney general filed a lawsuit against TikTok, accusing the platform of misleading parents about the scope of inappropriate content available to young users.

Earlier this year in June, the Los Angeles Board of Education voted to restrict student phone use during the school day, a response to growing concerns about the impact of digital content on young people’s minds.

In September YouTubebelonging to Alphabet Inc.Access to some health and fitness videos for teenagers has also been restricted to prevent them from developing a negative self-image.

Photo courtesy of: Shutterstock.com

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Reservation: This content was prepared in part using AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.