The HandsAway application, which allows reporting of sexist and sexual assaults, has been temporarily suspended due to a cyber harassment action carried out this weekend, the association that publishes it announced on Monday, Numerama reports .
Notice to those who send us messages regarding registration and connection problems: the application has been temporarily cut. More info on our press release below (thread to unroll) ↩️ https://t.co/FPBqXHYeNZ
- HandsAway (@HandsAwayParis) June 9, 2020Many false reports as well as mockery and insults were sent via the application, leaving the platform no other choice to stop temporarily, as it announced in a series of tweets.
Over 500 reports in a few hours
Contacted by Numerama , Alma Guirao, the president of the Handsaway association explains that in just "a few hours, we have received more than 500 reports, whereas in normal times we receive fifty or so a week". Some have targeted Russia. A scabrous drawing was also drawn on the map around the city of Domrémy-la-Pucelle and a swastika was displayed in the north of Russia, specifies the media.
Many accounts have been created to feed false reports. For now, "we have not yet found the source or the organizers," regrets Alma Guirao, who does not know when the application will be available again. "We are a small team [...] Deleting responsible accounts will take a long time," she says.
Handsaway has contacted associations specializing in the fight against cyberbullying and may file a complaint. The action was not claimed on the usual channels.
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