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Hi there,
Thanks for your letter.
Even if you havent been personally affected by having something written about you, it can still be upsetting to read abusive posts written about other people. Each social network is different and you do need to report directly to Facebook about your concerns.
Nobody has to go through online bullying alone and you and your friends have taken the first step by reporting the abusive account to Facebook.
Sometimes people use social networks to be abusive and to bully other people and this is called cyber bullying. In this case, a group of people are using the internet to upset or humiliate other people. Getting bullied online can be really upsetting and its never easy to see why someone would behave in this way.
Bullying isnt specifically against the law but harassment and threatening behaviour is. Harassment can be reported directly to the police. You and your friends could do this as well as waiting for a reply from Facebook.
When something gets reported to Facebook, they will look at it and remove anything that doesn't follow the Facebook Community Standards. When Facebook contacts the person who made an abusive page or group, they won't say anything about who it was that reported it.
Its important to know that making a report to Facebook doesnt mean the content will definitely be removed. You may see something you don't like on Facebook that doesn't break the Facebook rules. This means it would be up to them to decide if they should delete it or not.
Perhaps you could think about speaking to an adult you trust maybe someone that you live with or a teacher at school. They could help you to talk to the police if this is what you decide that youd like to do next.
It might be helpful to look at our pages about bullying on social networks and online bullying, which have information and tips around keeping safe online.
Whatever the problem is, talking about it can be the first step to solving it. If you dont feel ready to talk to an adult you can talk to a ChildLine counsellor. There are different ways to do this you can have a 1-2-1 online chat, ring our free phone number 0800 1111 or send an email.
I hope we hear from you again when youre ready.
Take care,
Sam
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
You can ask me about anything you want, there's nothing too big or small. I read every single letter but I can only answer a few each week. My replies are published here on my page.