Twitter Says Cyber Bullies 'Not Just Our Problem'

Twitter UK's managing director has told Sky News cyber bullying is not just a one website problem and his company is working hard to clamp down on bullies.

Speaking on Sky News Sunrise, Bruce Daisley said: "These are clearly big issues and the thing that everyone's starting to realise is that it's not just a single site, this is an internet thing.

"So the thing we've really focussed on is partnering with experts across the whole group so we work with the Safer Internet Centre, we work with organisations who really are experts on making sure the internet's a safer environment."

Mr Daisley said the UK is a large and growing market for Twitter with 15 million users signed up to the micro-blogging website.

The social network allows people to publicly post their thoughts in 140 characters or less and has been linked to some high-profile cases of online bullying.

Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle has spoken out about "Twitter trolls" calling her "pug ugly" on the site.

Former footballer Stan Collymore called the site "a vacuum for abuse" and accused the website of not doing enough.

Along with Facebook and Ask FM, Twitter has also been linked to the suicides of bullied school children, but Mr Daisley said it is difficult to stop abuse from happening.

"It's very similar to being in the crowd at a football ground," he said.

"You can't stop people saying mean things, but what you can do is report what was said and take action if it's against the rules.

"So the way that that might work, with 500 million tweets each day, we need people to report when they see something unacceptable to them.

"We've got a clear set of rules and if something is in breach of the rules, then someone clicking our 'report tweet' button will enable us to take action."

Last month, many social networks took part in the global Safer Internet Day (SID) - aimed at educating internet users on the dangers of online bullying and web security.

:: SID has a helpline for internet users who are experiencing abuse - 0844 3814772.

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