By Kevin Morgan, EMEA Trust and Safety


Safer Internet Day, on Tuesday, 7 February 2023, is an EU wide initiative to promote a safer internet for all users, especially young people.

This year, TikTok is again supporting Safer Internet Day in Ireland by partnering with Webwise to support their #SilentWitness campaign, encouraging people to speak up against online bullying and abuse.

As part of this campaign, TikTok is working with some of Ireland's leading creators, including Chris Murphy, Mary-Claire Fitzpatrick, and Shanice Griffin, who have shared content highlighting the importance of calling out negative online behavior.

About the creators:
Mary-Claire Fitzpatrick (@mcluvs2laugh ) known as MC, is a kids TV presenter with RTÉ, TikToker and an online comedian. After her undergraduate degree in law, she began working for kids TV in 2019 when she was cast in Ace My Space, after being spotted on her YouTube channel MCluvs2laugh. Reigning from Laois, Mary-Claire lives in Dublin with her fiancée and dog Biscuit.


@mcluvs2laugh If you spoke to people in real life like trolls do on the internet. I’m delighted to partner with TikTok and @WebwiseIreland for Safer Internet Day this year. I’ve been making videos online for years, so I’ve seen a thing or two in the comments. It’s always baffled me how people speak to one another through a screen, as if there’s no one reading them on the other end. We want to help bridge that gap from the screen to the person. If you see a nasty comment, don’t scroll and ignore it. Don’t be a #SilentWitness and help make TikTok a safer place for everyone #saferinternetday ♬ original sound - Mary-Claire Fitzpatrick

Chris Murphy (@chrisisainmdom) known as ‘That Irish Gay’, iconic comedy sketches have gained him more than 800k followers on TikTok. Posting hilariously relatable content and LGBTQ+ skits, his background in film and script writing allows him to create top-tier videos that everyone enjoys. Chris loves all things fashion and beauty, which also plays out across his platforms in the amazing personas he creates throughout his sketches, garnering over 33 million likes on his videos.

@chrisisainmdom ♬ original sound - That Irish Gay 🌈☘️


Shanice Griffin (@itshanice_ ) is a 23-year-old popular Dublin-based TikTok creator who currently has more than 461K followers. Shanice is known on the platform for spreading positivity.

@itshanice_ Be careful online #silentwitness #saferinternetday ♬ original sound - Shanice Griffin


At TikTok, every day is Safer Internet Day and we continually strive to foster kindness and maintain a safe and inclusive space for our community to create and discover, without fear of being shamed, bullied or harassed.

Since Safer Internet Day last year, we've supported our community with a range of changes and updates focused on creating a safer environment for everyone. Earlier this month, we launched an updated account enforcement system, which will more efficiently and quickly remove harmful accounts, while promoting a clearer and more consistent experience for the vast majority of creators who want to follow our policies. Additionally, over the past 12 months, we have continued to develop and deliver innovative tools, policies and products, which prioritise the safety and well-being of our community, including;

  • In February 2022, we announced the results of our partnerships with eating disorders experts, researchers, and physicians, and we broadened our approach to eating disorders. In addition to removing content that promotes eating disorders, we started to remove content that promotes disordered eating.
  • In July 2022, to further empower viewers with ways to customise their viewing experience, we rolled out a tool that allows people to automatically filter videos with words or hashtags they don't want to see from their For You or Following feeds.
  • In July 2022, we also announced that we are working to build a new system to organise content based on thematic maturity. Many people will be familiar with similar systems from their use in the film industry, television, or gaming and we are creating with these in mind while also knowing we need to develop an approach unique to TikTok.

We also run in-app educational campaigns to educate our community about our safety tools, including:

  • Our Bullying Prevention guide for teens, caregivers, and educators explains how to identify and prevent bullying, and provide support.  
  • Our Guardian's Guide on digital safety supports caregivers in helping their teens learn about digital safety in order to manage their online presence. It includes tips that we created in partnership with parents and teens on the type of support that teens really value from trusted adults.

The safety and wellbeing of our community are a top priority. While we are continually exploring ways, and implimenting changes, to improve our policies and enforcement, we recognise there needs to be a finish line when it comes to keeping people safe. Our continued safety improvements reflect our ongoing commitment to the safety and well-being of our TikTok community.