In response to a rise in cyberbullying among school students on social media, the Maldives Police Service’s Cyber Crime Centre has launched special measures to address the issue.

The police institution revealed that during the past week, Instagram confession pages related to 22 schools in the capital Malé City have been brought under police control and investigations have been launched, while two additional confession page cases are being investigated jointly by the Family and Child Protection (FCP) and the Cyber Crime Center.

Police noted that the issue is escalating daily, with many school students becoming victims. They also revealed that, in many cases, the individuals creating and managing these pages are students themselves.

MPS went on to reveal that the students who create and run these pages keep their information secret, and spread false information about other students and teachers, as well as mock, harass, and publish many writings that cause psychological harm on these pages.