Safer Internet Day
Safer Internet Day
Promly’s GenZ team joins with Representative Susan Wild in an effort to have YouTube remove suicide-provoking videos.
Promly Changemakers, along with Representative Susan Wild, announces its day of action to combat teen suicides. Rep. Wild will lead our Gen Z initiated campaign to pressure YouTube to remove instructional videos teaching adolescents and children how to commit suicide by searching “How to tie a noose” and “How to hang yourself”. To date, despite numerous efforts to work directly with YouTube that date back to July 2020 on this issue, YouTube refuses to remove the videos, arguing the videos do not violate their policies. However, YouTube’s community guidelines clearly state that YouTube “does not allow content on YouTube that promotes suicide, self-harm, that is intended to shock or disgust, or poses a considerable risk to viewers”.
“When our Promly interns started a petition on this issue in 2020, I never would have anticipated it would take so long for YouTube to remove this harmful content that we know is having an impact on the rising rates of deaths of despair. It’s seems unbelievable that even with the help of Congress on our side and multiple meetings with YouTube representatives, YouTube continues to keep these videos on their platform knowing that we are in the midst of a major mental health crisis with sky rocketing suicide rates among our children and teens.
Today, on Internet Safety Day, I’m proud of Promly’s Gen Z Team for continuing this important work. Removal of these videos gives struggling teens a chance. Thank you to Rep. Wild for leading our efforts to affect real change and actually save lives.” Statement by Jennifer Libby, Promly Founder and CEO, and veteran adolescent psychotherapist.
Promly is a rising tech organization launching a social ecosystem built by Gen Z for Gen Z. Coming to the app store in May, Promly’s Gen Z advisory team, youth education, health specialists, and app developers are working together with Gen Z to create a new experience in social networking with built in mental health support for their generation.
#TakeThemDown #SaferInternetDay
