Social media safety is measured in numbers that look nothing like “harm prevention” on paper, yet the scale is hard to ignore. In 2023 alone, automated systems helped remove or action billions of risky moments across platforms, including YouTube content taken down before it ever reached views. At the same time, phishing and cybercrime continue to slip through human behavior, creating a gap between what platforms detect and what people still fall for.
Key Takeaways
- Over 1.4 billion pieces of content were actioned globally by Meta in 2023 using automated systems
- In 2023, Facebook reported that it took action on 22.9 million pieces of content for hate speech
- In 2023, Twitch reported it removed 1.7 million streams for violating safety and harassment rules
- Google Safe Browsing protects against over 1 billion malware and phishing attempts per day (industry reporting, 2023)
- In 2023, 91.0% of policy-violating content on YouTube was detected by automated systems
- In 2023, Reddit reported that automated systems were responsible for detecting 62% of policy-violating content
- 45% of phishing emails are opened by users, according to a benchmark study by Tessian (2019)
- 1 in 4 people reported being a victim of a cybercrime in the last 12 months (US, 2019)
- $3.5 billion in investment scam losses were reported in 2023 (FBI IC3)
- Enterprises with incident response automation reduced the cost of breaches by $500,000 on average (IBM/Cost report analysis)
- EU regulators issued 1,000+ decisions and enforcement actions related to digital safety in 2023 (EDPB annual reporting)
- In 2024, 61% of consumers said they received suspicious messages/links (phishing or scams), increasing risks through social media messaging ecosystems.
- In 2023, the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) implementation period resulted in over 20 online platforms publishing risk assessments and transparency reporting templates by mid-2024, improving social-media safety governance.
- The Verizon 2024 DBIR reported that social engineering was involved in 74% of incidents involving human actions.
- In 2023, Meta reported (in its Community Standards Enforcement transparency materials) that it took action on 19.5 million pieces of content violating its Community Standards for harassment/bullying.
Automated moderation and spam protections prevent billions of threats, but scams and cybercrime keep impacting users.
Related reading
01 · Category
Policy Enforcement3 stats
01
Over 1.4 billion pieces of content were actioned globally by Meta in 2023 using automated systemshttps://transparency.meta.com/policies/community-standards/
02
In 2023, Facebook reported that it took action on 22.9 million pieces of content for hate speechhttps://transparency.meta.com/enforcement/?tab=reporting
03
In 2023, Twitch reported it removed 1.7 million streams for violating safety and harassment ruleshttps://safety.twitch.tv/safety-community-guidelines/
Interpretation
Policy Enforcement Interpretation
Under Policy Enforcement, Meta’s automated systems actioned over 1.4 billion pieces of content in 2023, and the same year Facebook took down 22.9 million hate speech items while Twitch removed 1.7 million streams for safety and harassment rule violations.
02 · Category
Automated Safety5 stats
01
Google Safe Browsing protects against over 1 billion malware and phishing attempts per day (industry reporting, 2023)https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/overview?hl=en
02
In 2023, 91.0% of policy-violating content on YouTube was detected by automated systemshttps://transparencyreport.google.com/youtube-policy/removals?hl=en
03
In 2023, Reddit reported that automated systems were responsible for detecting 62% of policy-violating contenthttps://redditinc.com/policies/transparency-report
04
YouTube removed 92.2% of content violating its policies before it had any views in 2023https://transparencyreport.google.com/youtube-policy/
05
Meta reported that 76% of its content decisions in 2023 were made by automated systemshttps://transparency.meta.com/enforcement/
Interpretation
Automated Safety Interpretation
For the Automated Safety category, the data shows a clear shift toward automation, with platforms reporting that in 2023 automated systems detected and removed policy-violating content at scale, including YouTube detecting 91.0% of violations and removing 92.2% before any views, while Meta automated 76% of content decisions.
03 · Category
Threat Impact2 stats
01
45% of phishing emails are opened by users, according to a benchmark study by Tessian (2019)https://www.tessian.com/blog/phishing-stats/
02
1 in 4 people reported being a victim of a cybercrime in the last 12 months (US, 2019)https://www.commerce.gov/data-research/cybersecurity/united-states-cybersecurity-and-privacy-survey
Interpretation
Threat Impact Interpretation
From a Threat Impact perspective, the stakes are high because 45% of phishing emails get opened and 1 in 4 people report being victims of cybercrime within the past 12 months.
More related reading
04 · Category
Cost Analysis6 stats
01
$3.5 billion in investment scam losses were reported in 2023 (FBI IC3)https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2023_IC3Report.pdf
02
Enterprises with incident response automation reduced the cost of breaches by $500,000on average (IBM/Cost report analysis)https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach
03
EU regulators issued 1,000+ decisions and enforcement actions related to digital safety in 2023 (EDPB annual reporting)https://www.edpb.europa.eu/news/news/2024/annual-report-2023-protection-and-fines_en
04
Organizations spent a median of $1.83 million per year on security activities in 2023 (Gartner survey result)https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/contract/dms/2023-security-budget-survey
05
$3.4 billion in losses were reported to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2022 across all categories, demonstrating scale relevant to social engineering often occurring via social media.https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2022_IC3Report.pdf
06
In the UK, the average cost of cybercrime to organizations was £3.12 million in 2023 (Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2023).https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2023
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
Cost impacts from social media driven threats are clearly material, with reported scam and cybercrime losses reaching $3.5 billion in 2023 and an additional $3.4 billion reported to the FBI IC3 in 2022, even as organizations aiming to manage expenses spend a median $1.83 million yearly on security and can cut breach costs by $500,000 on average through incident response automation.
05 · Category
Industry Trends2 stats
01
In 2024, 61% of consumers said they received suspicious messages/links (phishing or scams), increasing risks through social media messaging ecosystems.https://www.varonis.com/blog/security-awareness
02
In 2023, the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) implementation period resulted in over 20 online platforms publishing risk assessments and transparency reporting templates by mid-2024, improving social-media safety governance.https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/digital-services-act-package
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Under the Industry Trends angle, the sharp 61% of consumers reporting suspicious messages or links in 2024 shows how quickly social media messaging ecosystems are amplifying scam risk, even as EU DSA implementation drives more than 20 platforms to publish risk assessments and transparency templates by mid 2024.
06 · Category
Performance Metrics5 stats
01
The Verizon 2024 DBIR reported that social engineering was involved in 74% of incidents involving human actions.https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/
02
In 2023, Meta reported (in its Community Standards Enforcement transparency materials) that it took action on 19.5 million pieces of content violating its Community Standards for harassment/bullying.https://www.meta.com/help/instagram/answer/975814478569313/
03
A 2019 peer-reviewed meta-analysis found that online harassment is significantly associated with negative mental health outcomes, with an average effect size indicating measurable harm.https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2167702619849146
04
A 2021 peer-reviewed study reported that credibility of misinformation improved engagement, with false content receiving substantially higher average engagement than true content in observed samples.https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-00090-3
05
A 2018 peer-reviewed study in PLOS ONE found that repeated exposure to misinformation increased belief, demonstrating a mechanism relevant to social media safety.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0196084
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Performance metrics show that social media safety issues are measurable and scalable, with social engineering tied to 74% of human-action incidents and major platforms reporting action on 19.5 million harassment and bullying posts, while peer reviewed research links misinformation and harassment to increased belief and measurable harm.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, February 13). Social Media Safety Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/social-media-safety-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Social Media Safety Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/social-media-safety-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Social Media Safety Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/social-media-safety-statistics.
Sources & references
23 datasets cited across this report
+5 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)