Ask.fm Forms First Ever Safety Advisory Board

Under the stewardship of Ask.fm's newly appointed Chief Trust and Safety Officer, Catherine Teitelbaum, the Ask.fm Safety Advisory Board is comprised of some of the world's most renowned digital safety experts, and reflects deep expertise across a variety of topics, including cyberbullying and its combined impact with bullying in the physical world.

Under the stewardship of Ask.fm's newly appointed Chief Trust and Safety Officer, Catherine Teitelbaum, the Ask.fm Safety Advisory Board is comprised of some of the world's most renowned digital safety experts, and reflects deep expertise across a variety of topics, including cyberbullying and its combined impact with bullying in the physical world.

The purpose of the board is to assist Ask.fm with a global view on industry-leading guidance, research and best practices as it develops new polices, procedures and strategies for enhancing user safety on the site, and collaborating with industry, communities, schools, government and law enforcement to make Ask.fm a safer and more positive place.

Newly-appointed Board members include:

"We see extreme behaviour in all walks of life. But on social networks, we have the chance to spot it, intervene or help where needed. I have been extremely impressed by Ask.com's commitment to improving safety on Ask.fm, and am pleased that the team is seeking guidance from experts in safety so as to accelerate that process. Ask.com has the resource and the intent to make a real difference to the site's safety, without detracting from the user experience," said John Carr OBE.

Dr. Brian O'Neill said, "Children's use of both the Internet and mobile devices continues to shift rapidly, and key to ensuring youth safety online is an understanding of what motivates them, and their use of the technology. I look forward to teaming up with my peers in this space and guiding Ask.fm toward evidence-based strategies to keep younger audiences safe and responsible as they navigate their digital worlds."

Today's news is the latest milestone in Ask.com's plan to transform the Ask.fm service and materially impact the safety of the site. Since being acquired by Ask.com, and over the last five months, Ask.fm has executed the following:

Next, Ask.fm will focus on key areas such as:

"We bought Ask.fm both because of its impressive organic growth and its potential for becoming an even bigger mainstream social network for asking and answering questions," said Doug Leeds, chief executive officer, Ask.com, the parent company of Ask.fm. "But we've said from the beginning that unlocking that potential is dependent on putting safety first. It won't be a quick or easy process, but step by step we are methodically tackling safety issues on Ask.fm, and are as committed as ever to making the site a safer and more positive place."

About Ask.com 

With more than 100 million global users, Ask.com is a leading online brand for questions and answers and an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI). More information is available at www.ask.com or http://blog.ask.com.

About Ask.fm

Ask.fm is the world's largest Q&A social network where more than 150 million members in more than 150 countries connect and engage by asking each other questions. Ask.fm is operated by Ask.com, the leading brand for online questions and answers and an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI).

Contact:
Sarah Wilkinson for Ask.fm
[email protected]