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A Parent’s Guide In Reporting Inappropriate Content and Behaviours Online
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As your child goes on messaging apps, social media or gaming platforms, they may encounter various risks or harms that may impact their well-being. Learn about the potential dangers they may encounter and, more importantly, know the steps you can take to protect your child.
What are the common online risks and harms you can flag?
Each platform is guided by their own community guidelines and standards to determine what is and isn’t allowed. While the specifics may vary, here are some common online risks and harms that should be reported.
1. Online harassment
Online harassment is when someone threatens, insults, or cyberbullies another person online. This can make the victim feel scared, embarrassed, or upset. Examples include sexual harassment, online stalking, and doxxing (sharing personal information without consent). Such behaviours can affect a person's mental health and make them feel unsafe online.
2. Sexual Content
Sexual content can include images or videos that show nudity or sexual activities, or that suggest something sexual. Such content can cause emotional distress, exploitation, and harassment, especially for vulnerable individuals like children or youths.
3. Violent or graphic content
Content that displays violence or disturbing images can shock viewers and cause emotional harm and discomfort. Repeated exposure may desensitise individuals to real-life violence, making it crucial to report such content.
4. False content
False content is misleading or wrong information that can harm people or society, no matter the intent behind it. Examples include incorrect health advice, conspiracy theories, and misrepresented facts. Spreading false content can cause panic, lead to bad decisions, and make people lose trust in reliable information.
5. Hateful content
Hateful content includes attacks on people based on their traits like race, gender, or disabilities, often using hurtful language, stereotypes, and insults. Such content can hurt those targeted, create division in the community, and contribute to a culture of intolerance and hostility.
How can you report them on common platforms
If your child encounters harmful content, it’s important to know how to report it effectively on various platforms. Here’s how you can take action to protect your child online:
Gaming Platforms
Playstation
- Blocking someone
You can block someone on the Playstation network, so both the blocked player and you cannot view each other’s profile, activity or personal information, add each other to parties or watch each other’s screen during Share Screen. You will not be able to see the blocked player’s messages in a group, nor hear each other voices in the same party chat.
- Reporting someone
If you come across a player with inappropriate and abusive conduct, you can report it to PlayStation to assess and take appropriate actions.
Know more about PlayStation’s Family Safety here.
Steam
- Blocking someone
You can block a player on Steam, which will prevent them from interacting with you via invites, messaging you through Steam chat or commenting on your profile or community items that you have created.
- Reporting someone
If you come across a player with inappropriate and abusive conduct, you can report it to Steam to assess and take appropriate actions.
Know more about Steam’s Online Conduct here.
Xbox
- Blocking someone
Blocking another player prevents you from receiving that player's messages, game invites, and party invites. It also prevents the player from seeing your online activity and removes them from your friends list, if they were on it.
- Reporting someone
If you come across a player with inappropriate and abusive conduct, you can report it to Xbox to assess and take appropriate actions.
- Muting someone
You can mute someone in-game or in chat voice communications, which prevents them from speaking to you in-game or in a chat session.
Know more about Xbox Family & online safety here.
Messaging Platforms
Messenger
- Reporting abuse
If you come across inappropriate and abusive messages, you can report it to Meta to assess and take appropriate actions.
- Blocking someone
When you block someone's Facebook profile on Messenger, it also blocks their profile on Facebook. They won't be able to message, call or find your profile on Messenger or Facebook chat. If you're Facebook friends, blocking them also unfriends them. Profiles won't be notified when you block them.
Know more about Meta’s Community Standards here.
Telegram
- Reporting content
If you come across inappropriate and abusive content, you can report it to Telegram to assess and take appropriate actions.
Know more about Telegram’s FAQ here.
- Blocking and Reporting someone
You can stop receiving messages, calls, and status updates from someone by blocking them. You can also report them if you think they are sending problematic content or spam.
Know more about WhatsApp’s Help Centre here.
Social Media Platforms
- Reporting abuse
If you come across inappropriate and abusive content, you can report it to Meta to assess and take appropriate actions.
- Blocking someone
You can prevent unwanted interactions by blocking someone, which means, you will unfriend, unlike and unfollow the person. This will prevent the person from interacting with you, including starting conversations with you, tag the person or see posts from the profile.
- Restricting someone
The Restricted list is for people you’ve added as a friend but may not want to share with. When you add someone to your Restricted list, you’ll still be friends with them, but they'll only be able to see your public profile information, public posts and posts you tag them in.
Know more about Facebook’s Community Standards here.
Hardware Zone
- Report an offending post or member
If you come across inappropriate and abusive content, you can report it to Hardware Zone to assess and take appropriate actions.
Know more about Hardware Zone’s Help & Safety Resources here.
- Reporting abuse
If you come across inappropriate and abusive content, you can report it to Meta to assess and take appropriate actions.
- Blocking someone
Blocking someone will prevent them from accessing your account. It also blocks their account, other existing accounts that they may have or any new accounts that they may create. The person will not be notified when they are blocked.
- Restricting someone
Restricting someone hides your online status and read receipts from them and makes their new comments on your posts visible only to them. You can choose to view, approve, delete, or ignore their comments as needed.
Know more about Instagram’s Community Guidelines here.
TikTok
- Reporting abuse
If you come across inappropriate and abusive content, you can report it to TikTok to assess and take appropriate actions.
- Blocking someone
Blocking someone prevents you and the person from viewing each other's posts, profiles, and direct messages, though you may still encounter them in group chats or shared content. Blocked users are not notified of the action, and any previous connections are removed.
Know more about TikTok’s Community Guidelines here.
X
- Reporting abuse
If you come across inappropriate and abusive content, you can report it to X to assess and take appropriate actions.
- Blocking someone
Blocking someone on X helps you in restricting the person’s from following, Direct Messaging, and engaging with you.
- Muting someone
Mute allows you to remove an account's posts from your timeline without unfollowing or blocking the account. Muted accounts will not know that you have muted them.
Know more about X’s Rules and Policies here.
Youtube
- Request for content removal
You can report a video when someone posted your personal information or uploaded a video of you without your knowledge.
- Report inappropriate content
You can report an inappropriate video, short, channel, comment, live chat message or ad. Reporting content is anonymous, so other users cannot tell who made the report.
Know more about YouTube’s Privacy and Safety Centre here.