Snapchat: don’t blame us for users’ posts
SOCIAL media firms should not be held fully responsible for how users behave on their platforms, Snapchat’s policy director is expected to tell MPS tomorrow.
Stephen Collins is expected to tell the Commons culture committee that there should be regulation introduced by the Government to help protect users from online harm. The messaging platform will come under fire from the committee for its failure to hand over data to police investigating claims that the killer of a boy taunted the family in messages on Snapchat.
Mr Collins will argue that concepts such as a statutory duty of care, for which The Daily Telegraph has campaigned, can help hold firms to account to a standard of safety for users.
“It can’t just be down to the companies to ensure that users are using particular products or platforms in a responsible way,” a Snapchat source said. He will, however, say regulation should not be “so overly secure that nobody will want to use” the platforms and that it restricts innovation.
Damian Collins, the chairman of the committee, has already indicated he will raise the case of Breck Bednar, who was lured to his killer’s flat where he was stabbed to death.
In a statement ahead of the meeting, the MP said: “Social media companies have a responsibility to cooperate with law enforcement agencies to protect their users, and this is perhaps the most egregious example of a company failing in that responsibility. We will be raising this tragic case with the company as part of our evidence session with them.”
The committee chairman said Snapchat and other companies needed to take greater responsibility for what happened on their platforms.
“Whilst social media is user-generated, the platforms should be under a duty of care to protect their users from harmful content,” said Damian Collins.
“Where companies are aware of harmful content and accounts that are spreading it, they should act against that material, or become liable for it themselves.” He added: “We need a regulator with statutory powers to oversee this, as it is clear that this is not something that can just be left to the companies themselves.”
Tony Stower, the NSPCC head of child safety online, said: “Social networks have demonstrated time and again that they will not prioritise the protection of young people from harm.
“The responsibility now lies with the Government to bring in an independent regulator that can enforce a legal duty of care … on social networks, which will include a requirement to proactively disclose information about risks and harms on their sites.”