Control your content, bishop tells Facebook

ONLINE pornography gives boys a warped attitude towards women, a Church of England bishop has said, as he accused Facebook of “shrugging its shoulders”.

The Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford, said social media companies could not just claim to be “a platform upon which others stand”. He said they should be “a ticket inspector of that platform, offering proper control and management of content”. Speaking during a debate at the House of Lords, the bishop warned: “The persistent and pervasive viewing of pornography can lead to the acceptance of all sorts of violence and unhealthy notions about sex and relationships, and men having extremely warped and degrading attitudes to women.”

In the same debate, Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester, said girls were made to feel inadequate because social media forced them to absorb a message that life is about “perfect sunsets, classically beautiful bodies and constant smiling”.