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Ask.fm

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Ask.fm
Type of site
Social Q&A website
Available inIndonesian, Bosnian, Czech, German, Dutch, Estonian, English, Spanish, Filipino, French, Croatian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese(Brazil), Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Swedish, Turkish, Greek, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Mongolia, Russian, Serbian, Ukrainian, Arabic, Georgian, Chinese, Japanese (June 2013)[1]
FoundedJune 16, 2010
Headquarters
Riga
,
Latvia
Area servedWorldwide
Key peopleIlja Terebin (CEO)
IndustryInternet
URLwww.ask.fm
AdvertisingYes
RegistrationOptional, required to post responses
Users65 million (July 4 2013)[2][3][4]
LaunchedJune 16, 2010
Current statusActive

Ask.fm is a social networking site where users can invite questions from other users on the site or from anonymous users. The site was launched on June 16, 2010.[3]

History

Founded in Latvia in 2010 as a rival to Formspring.[3] It has since overtaken the latter in terms of worldwide traffic generated.[5][6]

Criticism

In mid-2013, the site was the subject of several media articles regarding cyber-bullying that have been linked to suicides.[7] This was largely in response to widely reported cases of anonymous offensive messaging and suicides apparently resulting from such bullying. The site has courted controversy by not having workable reporting, tracking or parental control processes, which have become the norm on other social media websites.

However, the site later responded to the allegations by stating that they do have a reporting feature and employ a number of moderators to fight cyberbullying. Accordingly, the site has a "sexually explicit comment" monitor staffed by moderators; however, no comments are ever deleted, even for explicit threats. This is a major cause of criticism.[8]

The site also provides users with safety tips giving users basic pointers about being smart and responsible on Ask.fm.[9]

On 6 August 2013, it was reported that Hannah Smith, a 14-year-old girl from Leicestershire, England, had committed suicide, and that her father blamed her death on bullying responses she had received on the site. He called for tighter controls against social networking sites like Ask.fm, saying that he had seen the abuse his daughter had received and it was wrong that it was anonymous.[10][11] The Smith family calls were echoed by the parents of Goosnargh, Lancashire teenager Joshua Unsworth, who was reported to have been "cyberbullied" on the site prior to his suicide.[12] The company responded by stating it was 'happy to help police'.[13]

Following the suicide of Hannah Smith, British Prime Minister David Cameron called for a boycott of websites that don't take responsibility for dealing with cyberbullying on their sites.[14] Several advertisers responded by severing links with the site, including (amongst others) Save the Children,[15] eBay and BT. Vodafone had already stopped advertising on the site.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ask.fm Languages". Retrieved 2013-07-12.
  2. ^ Steve O'Hear (2013-07-04). "Personal Q&A Site Ask.fm Is Growing At A Clip Amid Media Backlash Over Safety Of Its Young Users". Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  3. ^ a b c Kenins, Laura (14 November 2012). "Latvian Web site at center of cyber-bullying inquiry". The Baltic Times. Riga. Baltic News Ltd.
  4. ^ Jennifer Van Grove (2013-06-08). "Ask.fm, the troubling secret playground of tweens and teens". CNET. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  5. ^ a b "Ask.fm Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2013-07-12.
  6. ^ "Formspring.me Site Info on Alexa". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  7. ^ Beckford, Martin (13 January 2013). "Pupils and parents warned social networking website linked to teen abuse". Daily Mail. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  8. ^ Sarle, Dmitri (13 May 2013). "Ask.fm Responds To Cyberbullying". ArcticStartup. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  9. ^ "Safety tips". Ask.fm. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  10. ^ Smith, Hannah (6 August 2013). "Hannah Smith death: Father says daughter was victim of cyberbullies". Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  11. ^ Shute, Joe. "Cyberbullying suicides: What will it take to have Ask.fm shut down?". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  12. ^ Joshua Unsworth's parents call for ban on notorious website ask.fm Lancashire Evening Post
  13. ^ "Hannah Smith: Ask.fm 'Happy To Help Police'". Sky News. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  14. ^ Coyne, Ellen (8 August 2013). "Cyberbullying websites should be boycotted, says Cameron". Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  15. ^ a b Chapman, Matthew (9 August 2013). "Save the Children leads ad boycott of Ask.fm following suicide tragedy". Brand Republic. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
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