Ask.fm is a popular website among young adults–42% of users are under 18. Its 180 million members can ask and answer questions posed by other members. Roughly 700 posts are made each second. Over the years, it has been strongly criticized for not doing enough to prevent cyberbullying. In fact it has been linked to several teenage suicides, particularly in the UK. According to BBC: “Ask.fm has also been denounced for hosting pages belonging to Islamic extremists fighting in Syria and Iraq, who had used the site as a recruiting tool.”
Ask.fm has just been purchased by Barry Diller’s New York-based IAC, which also owns mobile dating app Tinder and Ask.com. New York State Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, wrote in an offical announcement: “Ask.fm will revamp its safety policies and producers.”
