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3) Report Offensive Content on Social Media
3) Report Offensive Content on Social Media – How to report? [Reference: solidground.sg]
This is a guide to taking down intimate images or videos that have been shared online without consent. It also provides information on what you can do to limit access to these materials if they cannot be taken down.
a. Record locations: take note of the URLs where your images are being shared. Preserve evidence by taking screenshots of each webpage or downloading the webpage as PDFs.
b. Report directly to trusted platforms.
Most mainstream platforms have clear policies against the distribution of intimate images and will have a dedicated reporting tool that you can use to report your intimate images and request for their removal. The following are some common platforms and how you can submit a report.
Facebook has a strict policy against the display of nudity or sexual activity. This also applies to digitally created content (e.g. photoshopped images or videos), unless the content was posted for educational, humorous or satirical purposes. Facebook only provides options for reporting from within their app/site, i.e. by using a Facebook account. If you do not have an account, you can make a new one or ask a friend to report this content for you.
To report: • From within the Facebook app/site, click ⋯ (usually located in the top-right corner of the photo, post or profile) • Click Find Support or Report • For Please select a problem > Nudity then Sharing Private Images • Click Next • For Before you report this post, does it go against our Community Standards on nudity or sexual activity? > Yes, I’d like to continue filing this report • Click Next to submit your report. • Facebook will then review your report and inform you of the outcome via your Support Inbox. To find your Support Inbox: • On desktop/web browser: click in the top-right corner of your screen > Help & Support > Support Inbox > Reports about others • On Android devices: click in the top-right corner of your screen > scroll to the bottom to find Support Inbox > Reports about others • On iOS devices: click or your profile image in the bottom-right corner of your screen > scroll to the bottom to find Help & Support > Support Inbox > Reports about others • In most cases, if Facebook thinks that the image violates their Community Standards, Facebook will also disable the account of the person who shared the image. They will also try to prevent it from being re-shared by using a photo-matching technology to ‘remember’ this image.
Instagram has a strict policy against the display of nudity or sexual activity, and defaults to removing sexual imagery on the platform. This also applies to digitally created content (e.g. photoshopped images or videos), unless the content was posted for educational, humorous or satirical purposes.
To report a post: • Click ⋯ (for iOS devices) or ⋮ (for Android devices) at the top-right corner of the post • Click Report • Click It’s inappropriate > Nudity or sexual activity as the reason > Sharing private images • Click Submit Report • Instagram will then review your report and take action if they think the post violates their Community Standards. You can check the status of your reports from within the app. • On Android phones: Navigate to your profile. Then click in the topright corner of your screen > Settings > Help > Support requests > Reports • On iOS phones: Navigate to your profile. Then click in the top-right corner of your screen > Settings > Help > Support requests > Reports
For non-Instagram User, you may report through this online form: https://help.instagram.com/contact/383679321740945
For each of the following questions, select the corresponding option: • Do you have an Instagram Account? > No • Where does the violation that you're reporting appear? > select the appropriate option, e.g. Photo or Video if you are reporting a photo or video • How is this [content/user] violating our guidelines > Nudity or pornography • Instagram will then ask you to provide the following details: o Your email address o The username of the person who posted the content that you’re reporting o Full name of the person who posted the content as listed on their account (optional) o Link(s) to the specific photo(s), violating profile(s), stories or comment(s) you’re reporting o Contact information of the person if you know them in real life. o Any other additional information. • Click Send to submit the report.
• TikTok
TikTok prohibits nudity and sexually explicit content, unless they are for educational, documentary, scientific or artistic purposes. You can report specific videos, livestream, users, or comments to TikTok. But you can only do so within the app itself.
• YouTube
Pornography for the purpose of sexual gratification is not allowed on YouTube and is against their Community Guidelines
To report a video, • Sign into YouTube • On your computer, click the three dots (⋯) below and on the right of the video player. On mobile, tap the three dots (⋯) at the top of the video. • Click or tap Report • Choose Sexual Content as your reason for reporting • If you are reporting on your computer, you can also provide more information to help the review team understand why YouTube will also prompt you to: • Indicate the timestamp. This is useful if the content you are reporting only appears at a portion of the video. • Provide additional details (up to 500 characters). This is useful if you want to explain to the reviewing team why the content should be removed.
If you are uniquely identifiable within the video, you can also report the user (or channel) for privacy infringement. To do so: • Sign in to YouTube • Go to the channel page you want to report. • Click About. • Click the Report Flag (it is located under ‘Stats’) • Click Report user • Click Privacy. This will prompt the browser to open a new tab, which brings you to the start of YouTube’s Privacy Complaint Process. • If you are looking to report something on YouTube that is not a video or a channel, use this Guide to reporting other types of YouTube content. It contains instructions for reporting playlists, thumbnails, links, comments, and live chat messages.
After you’ve submitted your report, YouTube will review your report and remove the content if they think that it violates their Community Guidelines.
• Telegram
You can report a channel or group by tapping on the channel/group icon (on top right) and from info page, selecting “Report”. To report a post or message, you can click on the message and select “report”. To report a user, you can send a direct email to abuse@telegram.org including the user/group name and your reason for reporting.
Take note that there is no “report” function in private groups. If a private group is offensive, you may want to consider leaving the group or blocking the user and reporting the user by sending an email to Telegram.
In more severe cases where there is greatly offensive images involving a large number of people (such as the now defunct ‘SG Nasi Lemak’ group chat), you can file a police report, as this is in line with the information that
circulation of obscene materials is an offence under Section 292 of the Penal Code.
WhatsApp does not have a specific policy tackling the non-consensual sharing of intimate images. However, such acts should be against their Terms of Service.
To report a user or groupchat: • Open the chats • Tap on the contact or group name to open their profile information • Scroll to the bottom and tap Report contact or Report group • Once reported, WhatsApp receives the most recent messages sent to you by a reported user or group, as well as information on your recent interactions with the reported user.
You can also report problematic content or persistent issues to WhatsApp. To do so:
• On Android: Go to WhatsApp > More options > Settings > Help > Contact us • On iPhone: Go to WhatsApp > Settings > Help > Contact Us Please provide as much information as possible. WhatsApp will not be able to view the contents of the messages that have been sent between you and the other party when you report issues to them in this manner, so please include screenshots and any available contact information in your report.
Other Considerations in social media blackout:
• Other types of content to report
Besides intimate images or videos, other content that you can report includes spam, crime or hate group, or violence. Impersonation accounts is also a common occurrence, which you can report using the same in-app reporting features. You may be requested to provide information such as your ID photo. Some platforms like Instagram respond to reports only if the person who made the report is the person who is being impersonated, or a representative, so do encourage your friend to make the report if he or she is being impersonated.
• Taking care of yourself
At times, takedowns may not be successful, as the decision is made by the website/platform. You should know that takedowns are not always successful, as the decision is made by the website/platform.
As performing takedown requests can be a long process, remember to take care of yourself during this time. Consider setting a limit to the time you spend on it, such as by allocating a set amount of time to address this in each day, or by considering other options by a certain deadline. Reach out to your friends for help and ideas – sometimes, a platform may take action quickly if there are multiple users reporting a content. If you feel anxious or stressed, do get in touch with a mental health support service.
