News came this week that Google and Microsoft will enforce a worldwide block on search results linked to child abuse. The changes to the media firms’ policies will prevent illegal child pornography appearing in more than 100,000 different searches.
David Cameron told the Daily Mail that the decision represents a "really significant step forward." And I agree.
However, there is plenty of other damaging material available through search engines at the tap of a keyboard. The line is clear when it comes to images of child abuse and child pornography: it is illegal and wrong.
But what about controversial topics such as eating disorders and self harm? There is damaging material readily available on the internet, easily located through search engines with tips and encouragement for people on how to effectively starve and harm themselves. With so many young and impressionable people searching the internet, it is all too easy for them to uncover these terrible websites and blogs, and direct themselves down dangerous paths.
Last year saw Instagram ban certain hashtags, making them unsearchable. So now, if you search for photos with the tag #thinspiration or #thinspo, which are popular pro-anorexia terms, nothing will be retrieved. Instagram blocked hundreds of tags, most notably those that contained sexual explicit terms and phrases such as #instabody and #loseweight, which were encouraging irresponsible weight loss.
Instgram issued the following message:
"Don’t promote or glorify self-harm. While Instagram is a place where people can share their lives with others through photographs, any account found encouraging or urging users to embrace anorexia, bulimia, or other eating disorders; or to cut, harm themselves, or commit suicide will result in a disabled account without warning. We believe that communication regarding these behaviors in order to create awareness, come together for support and to facilitate recovery is important, but that Instagram is not the place for active promotion or glorification of self-harm."
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Tumblr has also banned blogs that actively promote self-harm. It’s dreadful to even consider that there are people putting content on the internet actively promoting self-mutilation and even suicide in the first place. A statement on Tumblr’s staff blog reads:
"We are deeply committed to supporting and defending our users’ freedom of speech, but we do draw some limits. As a company, we’ve decided that some specific kinds of content aren’t welcome on Tumblr. For example, we prohibit spam and identity theft. Our Content Policy has not, until now, prohibited blogs that actively promote self-harm. These typically take the form of blogs that glorify or promote anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders; self-mutilation; or suicide. These are messages and points of view that we strongly oppose, and don’t want to be hosting."
Tumblr have also shown some social responsibility by actively addressing anyone who searches for tags that typically accompany self-harm blogs. So searching for ‘thinspiration’ will bring up the following message:
‘Eating disorders can cause serious health problems, and at their most severe can even be life-threatening. Please contact the [resource organization] at [helpline number] or [website].’
A similar stance needs to be taken on Google and other major search engines. It would be impossible to block any sites that mention eating disorders and self-harm, particularly as many sites on these topics are run by charities trying to help people who suffer from these conditions.
When typing the term ‘anorexia’ into Google, the first page is filled with NHS and charity pages offering support and guidance. However, the first autocomplete suggested phrase is ‘anorexia tips’, proving that it is a popular search term. Related searches at the bottom of the page also include ‘pro anorexia.’
When typing the term ‘thigh gap’ into Google, the results are equally upsetting. The first page displays mixed results, with sites including ‘6 ways to get a thigh gap’ and a video entitled ‘How to get a thigh gap, fast and easy!’ This current ‘trend’ on girls losing weight as to not let the tops of their thighs touch has become so widespread, there are even dedicated Twitter accounts to celebrities with skinny legs: the seventh Google result is the Twitter account for model Cara Delevigne’s Thigh Gap.
Even for sites like Instagram and Tumblr which are doing their best to weed out the negative content on these matters, as with most internet issues, there are loopholes. Variations on tags and search terms such as #proanatips and #thin are becoming popular alternatives for tagging pictures.
I also came across a Tumblr account called The Gap, not the clothing store, but a pro-thigh gap site, filled with shocking, near pornographic images of women exposing the bottom half of their bodies to show off their ‘hard work’.
There is even a picture of the much-maligned pop star of the moment, Miley Cyrus, describing her slim legs as ‘the only good thing about her.’ The site is careful not to explicitly use terms, such as ‘thigh gap’ or ‘thinspiration’, instead using phrases such as ‘Everyday is a Gap Day’ and the simple, but equally search-effective ‘gap’, allowing it to slip through Tumblr’s filters.
If bloggers are intent on keeping such accounts and posting negative material, then they will simply turn to alternative sites to host their content. There may be less negative content on Instagram and Tumblr, but other sites, such as We Heart It, host an abundance of photos with tags including ‘hip bones’, ‘skinny’, ‘fasting’ and ‘thinspo.’
If Google were to censor sites that glorified eating disorders and self harm, it would be hard to know where to draw the line. What is seen as irresponsible? Blocking all content is one step closer to becoming a policed state with no freedom of expression, which is not the way forward. But Tumblr certainly has the right idea by reaching out to people who search for harmful web content with information on how to get help.
