GRAMMED GESTURE

Meta brings in measures to stop children from seeing clips of vicious attacks on Instagram. Parents of kids highlighted by the Record's campaign urge Snapchat and TikTok to follow

- RUTH SUTER

VICTIMS of youth violence have welcomed a new Instagram crackdown that will prevent teens from viewing clips of sickening attacks online.

The new safety measures, which come into place immediately, have been hailed as a "step in the right direction" after calls for social media companies to protect children from harmful online content.

The update, announced by the platform's parent company Meta, comes amid pressure from the Daily Record's Our Kids... Our Future campaign, which was launched in 2023 after a spate of violent attacks on young people in Scotland were filmed and uploaded to internet platforms.

We told how the trend of graphic online videos was being fuelled by a desire for clicks, likes and popularity.

Katrina Lynden, whose 13-year-old daughter.

Hope, was filmed in a brutal attack in Renfrewshire, earlier this year, said it was "about time" platforms like Instagram safeguarded children online - and she demanded Snapchat and Tik Tok follow sut.

Hope was beaten by a group of girls after she agreed to meet a friend at Boden Boo, Erskine, in April.

But after an argument broke out at the beauty spot, she suffered a sudden blow to the back of her head and was left unconscious.

Video captured her being dragged through the park by her hair while a group of onlookers filmed the disturbing scene on their phones. The video then went viral on social media.

Katrina, 37, from Clydebank, told the Record: "It's about time platforms did something to protect kids online. The issue of teens watching, filming and uploading attacks to social media has been rife in Scotland.