Patel demands social media firms act faster after Wiley rant
PRITI PATEL has demanded that social media firms act quicker to remove “appalling hatred” from their sites amid widespread outrage over anti-semitic posts by the grime artist Wiley.
The Home Secretary has demanded a “full explanation” from Twitter and Instagram for allowing the posts to remain visible for more than 12 hours.
In them he compared Jewish people to the Ku Klux Klan and included antisemitic tropes about Jewish people controlling the business world. Campaigners have called on the Government to revoke his MBE and have said Twitter and Facebook, which owns Instagram, should ban him permanently.
Ms Patel said: “The anti-semitic posts from Wiley are abhorrent. They should not have been able to remain on Twitter and Instagram for so long. I have asked for a full explanation. Social media companies must act much faster to remove such appalling hatred.”
Labour has complained that the Government has delayed the introduction of an online harms bill that would protect internet users.
Wiley was dropped by his management following the posts, and police said they were investigating a complaint of incitement to racial hatred.
Twitter said Wiley’s account had been temporarily locked, while Facebook said there was “no place for hate speech on Instagram”. A spokesman for Facebook said the platform had issued the rapper with a seven-day ban. Twitter has previously been accused of allowing racism to “run rampant”.
Last night, Jo Stevens, shadow secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said Britain “desperately” needed legislation to force platforms to act.
Ms Stevens said: “The failure to tackle these examples of hate speech shows why we so desperately need legislation to force the social media companies to keep people safe online.”