What are four of the top social media networks doing to protect children?

With reports of cyberbullying on the rise, a guide to what Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram are doing, and whether it’s enough

According to recent report from NSPCC, ChildLine conducted 35,000 counselling sessions for low self-esteem between April 2014 and March 2015. The report blames “a constant onslaught from cyber-bullying, social media and the desire to copy celebrities,” as key reasons.

Julia Fossi, senior analyst for online safety at NSPCC says that while most platforms are taking steps to improve safety, social networks must be held more accountable for the content they host.

She says that social sites, which often use tracking technology for adverts and marketing could use a similar technology “to identify potential bullying issues and help determine what an effective intervention would look like.”

With reports of cyberbullying on the rise and girls more likely to be affected, Will Gardner, CEO, Childnet International says that the area is “challenging” but agrees that sites must continue innovating with technology to tackle the issue.

Here, we look at what four of the biggest social media networks are currently doing.

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10 Ways Your Smartphone Knows Where You Are

Location tools go well beyond GPS and Wi-Fi and increasingly can deliver high accuracy even indoors.

One of the most important capabilities that smartphones now have is knowing where they are. More than desktops, laptops, personal navigation devices or even tablets, which are harder to take with you, a smartphone can combine its location with many other pieces of data to make new services available.

There are at least 10 different systems in use or being developed that a phone could use to identify its location. In most cases, several are used in combination, with one stepping in where another becomes less effective.

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