After months of alleged online abuse of Kate Middleton and the expectant Meghan Markle, Kensington Palace issued new guidelines for its social media channels.
“Today we have published guidelines for interacting with The @RoyalFamily, @ClarenceHouse and Kensington Palace social media channels. Read in full here,” the royal household tweeted Monday, along with the link to “help create a safe environment on all social media channels run by The Royal Family, Clarence House and Kensington Palace.” (RELATED: Celebrate Prince William’s Birthday With Unforgettable Shots Of Kate Middleton [SLIDESHOW])
Britain’s Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge visit to celebrate inspirational young people from Northern Ireland at the Empire Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Phil Noble
“We ask that anyone engaging with our social media channels shows courtesy, kindness and respect for all other members of our social media communities,” the statement added. (RELATED: Report: Meghan Markle And Kate Middleton’s Alleged Feud Really Between Prince Harry And Prince William)
Today we have published guidelines for interacting with The @RoyalFamily, @ClarenceHouse and Kensington Palace social media channels. Read in full here: https://t.co/1qdvEoDktd
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 4, 2019
Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the 2018 Australian Geographic Society Awards in Sydney, Australia, October 26, 2018. Ian Vogler/Pool via REUTERS
The statement went on to explain that they “reserve the right to determine, at our discretion, whether contributions to our social media channels breach” their guidelines, which includes comments that are “obscene, offensive, threatening, abusive, hateful and inflammatory or promote sexually explicit material or violence.”
“We reserve the right to hide or delete comments made on our channels, as well as block users who do not follow these guidelines,” the Kensington Palace statement read. “We also reserve the right to send any comments we deem appropriate to law enforcement authorities for investigation as we feel necessary or is required by law.”
It comes on the heels of a report in U.K.’s Hello! magazine that Palace aides are spending a huge amount of time every week monitoring comments about the former “Suits” actress and Duchess of Cambridge on the royal household’s social media account.
“Over the course of last year, with hundreds of thousands of comments, there were two or three that were violent threats,” an insider shared. “You can delete and report and block people and the police have options around particular people. It’s something you have to manage because there’s no other way to control it.”