To combat cyber-harassment, Instagram has launched a “safety button” in France that allows you to directly call an emergency number – a world first.
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Anyone who reports harassment will be put in touch with psychologists and lawyers via a call button on 3018. The nationwide emergency number for victims of digital violence is available daily from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
For the e-Enfance association, partner of the initiative, this direct call button, which connects to the 3018 without leaving the application, is an effective tool that has been desired for a long time.
“We have been calling for a security button for years, we have also been calling for it at the European level,” said Justine Atlan, general director of e-Enfance.
“It took us a while to understand it, but we are happy that direct access has been integrated,” explained Justine Atlan.
“This means that young victims can benefit from immediate, specific support as soon as their report is submitted,” she said.
There is no direct call button on TikTok, a network very popular with young people, but those who report a case are now offered a link that takes them to page 3018.
According to a recent survey conducted for e-Enfance, in France a quarter of families have already faced the problem of cyber-harassment of minors: 15% of primary school students have already faced it, 25% of middle school students and 27% of high school students.
To counteract this phenomenon, the French government presented a series of measures at the end of September, ranging from the systematic reporting of harassment cases to the courts to the desire to exclude student harassers from social networks.
Overall, 86% of 8- to 18-year-olds are registered on social networks, including 67% of high school students, 93% of middle school students, and 96% of high school students.