May’s war on the web firms that ignore vile abuse of women
WEB giants such as Facebook and Twitter must automatically remove vile abuse aimed at women, Theresa May will demand today.
The Prime Minister will urge companies to utilise the same technology used to take down terrorist propaganda to remove rape threats and harassment.
Speaking at the G7 summit in Quebec, Mrs May will call on firms to do more to tackle content promoting and depicting violence against women and girls, including illegal violent pornography.
She will also demand the automatic removal of adverts that are linked to people-trafficking.
At the meeting of the leaders of the G7 nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US – Mrs May will argue they must ensure women can use the web without fear of online rape threats, harassment, cyberstalking, blackmail or vile comments.
She will say: ‘We know that technology plays a crucial part in advancing gender equality and empowering women and girls, but these benefits are being undermined by vile forms of online violence, abuse and harassment.
‘What is illegal offline is illegal online and I am calling on world leaders to take serious action to deal with this, just like we are doing in the UK with our commitment to legislate on online harms such as cyberstalking and harassment.’
The Prime Minister will acknowledge online giants have made serious efforts in From the Mail, December 13 using advanced technologies such as algorithms to tackle online terrorist propaganda. She will highlight the fact that, after pressure from the UK and the US, Facebook removed 1.9million pieces of Isil and AlQaeda content in the first quarter of this year – almost twice as much as the previous quarter.
She will also urge fellow leaders to look at how they can use legislation to deal with the perpetrators of such abuse.
Earlier this year, the Government announced plans to introduce laws to tackle online abuse and set clear responsibilities for social media companies to keep citizens safe.
Ministers are considering a mandatory social media code of practice. A White Paper will be published this year setting out details of the changes to be brought forward.
Earlier this year, Amnesty International UK published research disclosing that one in five women had suffered online abuse or harassment. A survey by Girlguiding found that 25 per cent of girls aged between 11 and 21 had experienced cyberbullying.
The issue has been repeatedly highlighted in Parliament. In March, the Committee on Standards in Public Life warned that female candidates were ‘ much more likely to be subject to intimidation than their male colleagues’. Three people have been jailed for abuse directed at Luciana Berger, the Labour MP, who spoke out about her experiences at a debate on anti-Semitism in April. A separate report found that female MPs from all parties were sent more than 25,000 abusive messages on Twitter in just six months last year. nearly half of all abusive messages were directed at Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, including racist Tweets and death threats.
The Prime Minister will also announce £187million of new funding to help more than 400,000 girls in developing countries receive a better education. Mrs May will tell her fellow leaders that it is a ‘devastating waste of potential’ that 130 million girls around the world are not getting a proper education.
The summit is expected to be overshadowed by the looming trade war triggered by Donald Trump and will be the first opportunity for Mrs May to confront the US President in person.