Meta, Snapchat, and TikTok Join Forces to Tackle Harmful Self-Harm Content
Meta, Snapchat, and TikTok are teaming up on a project called “Thrive” to help spot and remove content related to suicide and self-harm. The whole goal here is to reduce the exposure of this sensitive content, especially for users who are more at risk. And the best part? It's being managed by the Mental Health Coalition, so there’s some real power behind this initiative.
How does it work? Well, these platforms will share data about concerning posts—stuff that could be triggering. By sharing this info, they can act quicker and across multiple apps at once. So, if a harmful post shows up on one platform, they can catch it on the others too, making sure it gets removed faster.
Now, don’t get me wrong, talking about mental health is still totally okay. In fact, it’s important. But, there are limits, especially when it comes to graphic imagery or content that could encourage harmful behavior. That’s the line that “Thrive” is focusing on—making sure harmful visuals or messages don’t spread.
Meta made it clear that this is all about the content itself, not the people posting it. So, no personal info will be shared—just the data needed to find and take down the harmful stuff. The idea is to make their response quicker and more effective, protecting vulnerable users better than ever.
This kind of cross-platform teamwork is really a big step in the right direction. Social networks have already been doing similar things to fight misinformation, and now they’re applying that same energy to tackle something even more critical—keeping users safe from harmful content.
We know that heavy social media use can be linked to higher rates of depression and self-harm, especially among younger users. With suicide being the second leading cause of death among American youth, it’s awesome to see these companies stepping up and working together. Hopefully, this becomes a model for more collaborations like this in the future.
Hey there I’m Kylie Simao, owner of a boutique social media marketing agency dedicated to helping new, local and small businesses who want to promote themselves online using social media.