Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat Pledge Participation in Program Combating Suicide and Self-Harm Content Online

The nonprofit Mental Health Coalition (MHC) has announced a new program, Thrive, which aims to prevent suicide and self-harm content from spreading online. This initiative is a collaborative effort between the MHC and several prominent social media platforms, including Meta, Snap, and TikTok.

Table of Contents

What is Thrive?

Thrive is a program that encourages online platforms to share "signals" of potentially harmful material. These signals are essentially unique fingerprints of graphic suicide and self-harm content or content depicting viral challenges. The MHC emphasizes that these hashes will only tie to content, without including any identifiable information about accounts or individuals.

How Does Thrive Work?

Thrive members will have the ability to aggregate information on self-harm content and receive alerts when content raises concerns or violates their policies. From there, they can independently assess whether to take action. The program’s director, Dan Reidenberg, who is also managing director at the National Council for Suicide Prevention, will oversee the operational aspects of Thrive.

Participating Companies

Meta has contributed the technical infrastructure for Thrive, which is the same infrastructure provided to the Tech Coalition’s Lantern child safety program last November. Participating companies will be responsible for uploading, reviewing, and taking action on any content shared through Thrive. They will also contribute to an annual report that provides insight into the program’s impact.

Initial Partners

The MHC is excited to work with Thrive, a unique collaborative of influential social media platforms addressing suicide and self-harm content. Meta, Snap, and TikTok are some of the initial partners to join the initiative, committing to make an even greater impact and help save lives.

Absence of X (Formerly Twitter)

X, formerly known as Twitter, is noticeably absent from Thrive. The platform has a poor track record when it comes to moderation. Data suggests that X has significantly smaller moderation staff than other social platforms, partly due to CEO Elon Musk cutting an estimated 80% of the company’s engineers dedicated to trust and safety.

Google and YouTube

Google, which owns YouTube, is also not a Thrive member. YouTube has been in the spotlight for failures to protect users from self-harm content. A summer 2024 study from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue found that YouTube readily recommends videos encouraging or normalizing suicide to teens.

A Causal Link between Social Media Use and Mental Health

Studies have begun to show a causal link between high social media use and reduced well-being or mood disorders, chiefly depression and anxiety. Most studies imply that heavy social media users are much more likely to be depressed than light users, and to view themselves in an unflattering light – particularly their physical appearance.

Conclusion

Thrive is a new program aimed at reducing suicide and self-harm content online. The initiative brings together influential social media platforms to share signals of potentially harmful material. While some prominent companies are participating in the program, others, such as X (formerly Twitter) and Google, are noticeably absent. As research continues to highlight the link between social media use and mental health, it is essential for online platforms to take proactive steps to prevent harm.

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