Ban apps like Sarahah where my daughter was told to “KILL HERSELF”

The issue

I have been scared, broken and sick to my stomach ever since I read messages about my 13-year-old daughter including, “I hope SHE KILLS HERSELF. Seriously nobody will care”. No one, especially our youth, should have to read messages like this about them.

These messages were sent through an app called Sarahah, which can be downloaded for free on both the App Store and on Google Play. Sarahah is an app where people can make anonymous accounts and send anonymous messages to and about others.

Because of the anonymous nature of the app, Sarahah has become what users describe as “an app breeding suicides” and “a breeding ground for hate”.

My daughter and I have been shattered by this app, and tragically another teenager, in the UK, was found hanged early in 2017 after allegedly being bullied on a similar app called Sayat.Me, which was shut down in May.

Both the App Store and Google Play have policies against apps that facilitate bullying, harassment or self harm. Why then is Sarahah still available on these platforms?

No parent can stomach this abuse of their children and I cannot even imagine losing my beautiful, sweet girl to suicide. This is why we need to protect our children.

I read an article on ‘Dolly’, a 14 year old, who after so much bullying, took her life just after the New Year. Dolly felt that her only way out was suicide.

I do not want my daughter or any other to become the next Dolly.

App Store and Google Play - help us protect our most vulnerable and ban bullying apps like Sarahah now.

#speakevenifyourvoiceshakes

#doitfordolly

 

avatar of the starter
Katrina _Petition starter
Media enquiries
Confirmed victory
This petition made change with 465,039 supporters!

The issue

I have been scared, broken and sick to my stomach ever since I read messages about my 13-year-old daughter including, “I hope SHE KILLS HERSELF. Seriously nobody will care”. No one, especially our youth, should have to read messages like this about them.

These messages were sent through an app called Sarahah, which can be downloaded for free on both the App Store and on Google Play. Sarahah is an app where people can make anonymous accounts and send anonymous messages to and about others.

Because of the anonymous nature of the app, Sarahah has become what users describe as “an app breeding suicides” and “a breeding ground for hate”.

My daughter and I have been shattered by this app, and tragically another teenager, in the UK, was found hanged early in 2017 after allegedly being bullied on a similar app called Sayat.Me, which was shut down in May.

Both the App Store and Google Play have policies against apps that facilitate bullying, harassment or self harm. Why then is Sarahah still available on these platforms?

No parent can stomach this abuse of their children and I cannot even imagine losing my beautiful, sweet girl to suicide. This is why we need to protect our children.

I read an article on ‘Dolly’, a 14 year old, who after so much bullying, took her life just after the New Year. Dolly felt that her only way out was suicide.

I do not want my daughter or any other to become the next Dolly.

App Store and Google Play - help us protect our most vulnerable and ban bullying apps like Sarahah now.

#speakevenifyourvoiceshakes

#doitfordolly

 

avatar of the starter
Katrina _Petition starter
Media enquiries

Confirmed victory

This petition made change with 465,039 supporters!

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The Decision Makers

CEO at Sarahah, Zain-Alabdin Tawfiq
CEO at Sarahah, Zain-Alabdin Tawfiq
Responded
“Sarahah would like to assure all its users that the prevention of misuse of its services is always paramount in our operations. We strongly share the parents concern over their children’s possible exposure to unwanted messages. Therefore, we have limited the registration in Sarahah to 17 years of age or more. We have also put in place extremely advanced filtering techniques that detect unwanted words and phrases and Immediately delete any messages that contain such words.  We took the case mentioned in the petition at Change.Org very seriously and as soon as it came to our knowledge, we tested our system using a similar message to the one that was mentioned in the petition. Our system has detected the use of obscene language and deleted the test message right away. However, we did not stop at that and advanced the introduction of previously planned enhancements to our system using state-of-the-art techniques that provide the highest level of protection available.  Sarahah is the top constructive feedback platform in the world and it avails to its users  great self-improvement opportunities.  The level of protection used at our systems matches, and in many cases exceed, the systems used by the top social media platforms in the world. we will always ensure that our users enjoy its service in a highly protected environment by continuing to pursue the highest available protection techniques across the globe.”
Google, Inc
Google, Inc
Responded
“While we don’t comment on specific apps, our Google Play policies are designed to provide a great experience for users. We always do our best to work closely with developers to ensure they're in compliance with our policies. -- Google Spokesperson”
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Former Prime Minister of Australia
Petition updates

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Petition created on 9 January 2018