Former Love Island contestant Amy Hart said she has stopped reporting abusive comments to social media companies because she does not believe anything will be done.
The 29-year-old, a former air stewardess with British Airways, told an inquiry into influencer culture she did not believe sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were supportive enough when it came to trolling.
Appearing in front of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Hart recounted the abuse she regularly receives online and said she was surprised many of the abusive private messages sent to her did not breach the sites’ community guidelines.
Today we're exploring the impact of workplace practices & the role of third parties on influencer culture, hearing from:
(10am)
📱@AmyHart1707
📱@NicoleOcran, @TheCreatorUnion
(11.15am)
📱@AmyBryantJeff, @GleamFutures
📱@BrookeErinDuffy, @Cornell
📱@BenJeffriess, @InfluencerLtd pic.twitter.com/6XvCLZEUKs— Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (@CommonsDCMS) September 14, 2021
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She said: “I am desensitised but I would say that the (social media) networks are not supportive enough when it comes to trolling.
“I have reported some messages before and they come back saying, ‘We have looked at it and it doesn’t break community guidelines’ and I am like, ‘Look at that message!’
“Look at this barrage of messages someone has sent me before 7 o’clock in the morning telling me how much they hate me, how awful I am, why everyone hates me, how ugly I am.
“From a fake account as well, a trolling account, a burner account, and you are telling me that doesn’t break policy?”
Hart said she was getting trolled by people who said they are nurses and “people that have got husbands and children” and one death threat had been traced back to a 13-year-old.
She added: “I delete things, but you see those messages and actually I have probably stopped reporting them now because I know there is no point.
“Because the time it takes me the process of doing: ‘Why are you reporting this message?’ and then it comes back a few hours later with a notification that says, ‘We have checked it and it doesn’t break community guidelines’.”
Hart also dismissed the idea being an influencer was not a legitimate profession, telling the inquiry: “I used to think it wasn’t a proper job either and it really, really is.”
She said she would be willing to pay to use the social media networks “in exchange for a fairer algorithm”, suggesting posts tagged as advertisements were seen by less followers.
Hart also called for a standardised pricing structure based on how many followers an influencer has and their engagement that would dictate their work with brands
She appeared alongside Nicole Ocran, a blogger and co-founder of The Creator Union, which advocates for digital creators.
Ocran told the inquiry her union had reached out to social media networks including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram but had only received a response from image sharing site Pinterest.
Speaking about trolling, she said: “From our perspective the platforms do not move fast enough – the don’t move at all.”
On Twitter, users may not engage in the targeted harassment of someone, or incite other people to do so, and the site can limit the ability to post or suspend an account temporarily or permanently.
Instagram and Facebook both set out rules on “violating messages” which can be enforced through messaging restrictions and disabling accounts.
Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have been contacted for comment.
