Online safety law could help stop racist abuse of Old Firm footie stars
THE UK Government has published an Online Safety Bill it says will help stamp out online hate crimes. Ministers said the proposed law will affect big tech firms to make them more accountable for what is posted on their sites.
The draft bill includes giving Ofcom the power to fine companies up to £18 million, or 10% of their turnover, who fail in a new duty of care, and the regulator would also have the power to block access to sites.
It also includes provisions to tackle prolific online scams such as romance fraud, which have seen people manipulated into sending money to fake identities on dating apps.
It says social media sites, websites, apps and other services hosting user-generated content or allowing people to talk to others online must remove and limit the spread of illegal and harmful content such as child sexual abuse, terrorist material and suicide content.
A government sport minister told the Glasgow Times it can also help crack down on the racist abuse that sports stars receive, including that experienced by Celtic and Rangers players in recent seasons.
Nigel Huddleston said: “For too long our best loved sports stars have been targeted with vile, racist abuse from cowards hiding behind their keyboards.
“I have been appalled by recent stories of abuse hurled at footballers in Scotland. Players like ex-Celtic ace Timothy Weah who work incredibly hard to make fans proud are turning on their phones to find they’ve been bombarded with monkey emojis and repulsive insults.
“I have met with dozens of top sportsmen and women to discuss this issue and they all tell me the same thing – the social media companies need to do more.
I was moved by the sporting community’s recent social media blackout, which spelled out loud and clear that the status quo of unaccountable abuse online cannot continue.
“And yet, despite the deafening signal sent by the industry, footballers like Rangers’ Kemar Roofe checked their accounts the day after the boycott only to find racist messages from disgusting trolls. It is completely unacceptable and one of the reasons the
Government is stepping in.”
The minister said that failures to take action could see sites blocked.
He added: “They could also face huge fines of up to 10% of annual global turnover. For a company like Facebook or Google, that could be billions of pounds.
“With huge fines staring them in the face, we’re giving social media companies a clear incentive to sort out the plague of online abuse once and for all.”