Social Media Companies: Do Your Part to Stop Trolling

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The internet is a vast and wonderful thing. It allows for instant access of information and the free dissemination of ideas from people of all walks of life. But this isn't always a good thing.

**There's plenty of people who use the anonymity of the internet to tear others down and spread hate.**

Trolling is, according to OxfordDictionaries.com, "the act of making deliberately offensive or provocative online posting with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them." Trolling is not constructive. It does not add to the sense of community. Its sole purpose is to threaten, upset, or intimidate others online.

Nearly as long as they have been around, social media companies have turned a blind eye to this problem. The problem is vast and requires companies to have serious discussions about the kind of behavior they want to play host to. No one is saying these conversations will be easy, but they must take place.

Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube are some of the most popular social media platforms in existence. None of them have terms of service which ban trolling outright. Twitter's own top lawyer has admitted the company has been "inexcusably slow" in fighting off vicious online abuse.

If the internet is to be the democratizing force it was dreamed of becoming, these social media sites must provide a safe space for people to share their views without resorting to intimidation through trolling.

**Trolling is the ultimate anti-social behavior. Tell Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to revise their terms of service to ban trolling.**