Ex-Love Island star Amy Hart blasts social media firms over trolling
Ex-Love Island star Amy Hart says she has stopped reporting abusive online messages telling her she is ‘ugly and everyone hates her’ because ‘there is no point’ as she blasts social media firms over lack of action against trolling
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Former Love Island contestant Amy Hart today blasted social media firms for failing to tackle online trolling as she said she had stopped reporting abuse because ‘there is no point’.
Ms Hart told MPs she had become ‘desensitised’ to abuse as she said tech giants were ‘not supportive enough when it comes to trolling’.
She said she often receives a ‘barrage of messages’ attacking her but is told by networks the comments do not break community guidelines and therefore no action is taken.
The 29-year-old, a former air stewardess with British Airways, told an inquiry into influencer culture she does not believe sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are doing enough to combat trolling.
Giving evidence to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, Ms Hart recounted the abuse she regularly receives online.
Former Love Island contestant Amy Hart today blasted social media firms for failing to adequately tackle online trolling as she said she had stopped reporting abuse because ‘there is no point’
She said: ‘I am desensitised but I will say that the [social media] networks are not supportive enough when it comes to trolling.
‘I have reported some messages before and they come back saying, “we have looked at it and it doesn’t break community guidelines” and I am like, “look at that message!”.
‘Look at this barrage of messages someone has sent me before 7 o’clock in the morning telling me how much they hate me, how awful I am, why everyone hates me, how ugly I am.
‘From a fake account as well, a trolling account, a burner account, and you are telling me that doesn’t break the policy?’
Ms Hart said she was getting trolled by people who said they are nurses and ‘people that have got husbands and children’ and one death threat had been traced back to a 13-year-old.
She added: ‘I delete things, but you see those messages and actually I have probably stopped reporting them now because I know there is no point.
‘Because the time it takes me, the process of doing: “why are you reporting this message?” and then it comes back a few hours later with a notification that says, “we have checked it and it doesn’t break community guidelines”.’
Ms Hart also dismissed the idea being an influencer was not a legitimate profession, telling the inquiry: ‘I used to think it wasn’t a proper job either and it really, really is.’
She said she would be willing to pay to use the social media networks ‘in exchange for a fairer algorithm’, suggesting posts tagged as advertisements were seen by less followers.
Ms Hart also called for a standardised pricing structure based on how many followers an influencer has and their engagement that would dictate their work with brands.
She appeared alongside Nicole Ocran, a blogger and co-founder of The Creator Union, which advocates for digital creators.
Ms Ocran told the inquiry her union had reached out to social media networks including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram but had only received a response from image sharing site Pinterest.
Speaking about trolling, she said: ‘From our perspective the platforms do not move fast enough – they don’t move at all.’
