Safety features on ask.fm to be audited

Controversial social media website ask.fm has said it will carry out a full and independent audit of the site and its safety features, following widespread criticism of its response to cyberbullying.

The move comes as major advertisers have withdrawn from the site in recent days following the suicide of 14-year-old Hannah Smith, who was being bullied on the site.

The website was also linked to the tragic suicides of Irish schoolgirls Ciara Pugsley, 14, from Leitrim, and Erin Gallagher, 13, from Donegal, last year.