Website linked to teen suicides hires spin doctors to improve its image

A social media website linked to cyberbullying and teen suicides has hired spin doctors to repair its reputation following a series of public relations disasters.

Ask.fm, based in Latvia, has been linked to suicides in Ireland, Britain, and the US. However, the site is unlikely to make any fundamental changes to the way it operates, and an internet expert here has warned the best way to safeguard against any risks the site poses is for parental attitudes to change.

Ask.fm has 50m users and was set up to give young people a forum to ask questions and post comments anonymously. With no restrictions on what can be posted, many comments are of a sexual, aggressive, and bullying nature.