Major social media platforms fail to protect LGBTQ users, advocacy group GLAAD

[Jessica_Rose]

Major social media platforms fail to protect LGBTQ users, advocacy group GLAAD says

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/major-social-media-platforms-fail-to-protect-lgbtq-users-advocacy-group-glaad-says/ar-AA1EGWRc?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=6e9e44fb2f534b3d99ebfd2d6342d57d&ei=101

Story by BARBARA ORTUTAY (13 May 2025)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Major social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and X have failed to protect LGBTQ+ users from hate and harassment, in part, because they intentionally rolled back previous safety practices, the advocacy group GLAAD said Tuesday in its annual Social Media Safety Index.

The report said that recent "unprecedented hate speech policy rollbacks" from Instagram and Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Google's YouTube are "actively undermining the safety of LGBTQ people" both online and offline. Meta's rollback now allows users to call LGBTQ people "mentally ill," among other policy changes.

The scorecard assigns numeric ratings to each platform with regard to LGBTQ safety, privacy, and expression. Elon Musk's X received the lowest score at 30 out of 100, while TikTok came in highest at 56. Meta's Facebook, Instagram, Threads and Google's YouTube were in the 40s. The group's methodology has changed since last year, so the scores are not directly comparable to previous reports.

"At a time when real-world violence and harassment against LGBTQ people is on the rise, social media companies are profiting from the flames of anti-LGBTQ hate instead of ensuring the basic safety of LGBTQ users," said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD's president and CEO.