Article by Dan Milmo for the Guardian - published 19 October 2021 The coronavirus pandemic has been punctuated by outbursts of online hate that have had real-world consequences. The most alarming examples are the 6 January riot in Washington, which was spurred by rightwing groups organising online, and the racist abuse of England footballers during […]
Article by Sam Lennon for KentOnline - published 19 October 2021 Online trolls can be tracked down even when they remain anonymous. That's the message from a politician and social media expert in the wake of the David Amess tragedy. The Government has not ruled out banning anonymity on social media to help prevent the […]
Article written for Mace Magazine - published 18 October 2021 If we want to end the tragedy of the harm that can come from young minds engaging with toxic content on social media platforms, the corporate culture of big tech companies needs to change. “It is our experience that there is frustratingly limited success when harmful […]
Article by Charles Hymas for the Daily Telegraph - published 18 October 2021 The online harms bill should be “toughened up” to combat online abuse and renamed “David’s Law” in memory of Sir David Amess, a former Conservative minister has said. Mark Francois, a former armed forces minister, said Sir David, a close friend, had become […]
Article written for The I Paper - published 18 October 2021 The murder of Sir David Amess has shocked us all in Westminster. It was an attack on our very system of democracy, killing an MP as he worked with the people in his constituency, seeking to help them and represent their concerns. It has made […]
Article by Lee Harpin for Jewish News - published 9 September 2021 The government’s bill to tackle antisemitic and racist hate online will fail to punish the Microsoft search engine Bing for directing users to a website pumping out vicious anti-Jewish content, a charity chief has told MPs. Danny Stone, director of the Antisemitism Policy […]
Article by Matt Lawton for the Times - published 9 September 2021 Rio Ferdinand has described the “24-7” impact of online racist abuse, revealing how he had to explain to his children the meaning of deeply offensive emojis that were sent directly to him in social-media posts. The former England and Manchester United defender, now […]
Article by Steven Swinford for The Times - published 31 August 2021 Senior MPs have urged ministers to impose mandatory age checks on social media websites to stop children from being exposed to harmful material. The Tory MPs said that the government’s plans for the Online Safety Bill were too “woolly” and had to be […]
Article by Pippa Crerar for the Daily Mirror - published 31 August 2021 Social media companies have been urged to voluntarily impose age checks on their sites to stop children from being exposed to harmful material. Children's Commissioner for England Rachel de Souza is meeting tech bosses this week to challenge them to help keep […]
Article by Jonathan Reilly for The Sun - published 13 August 2021 Social media giants have been accused of doing nothing to stop the hosting of Jake Davison’s hate videos before his deadly rampage. Davison had posted YouTube clips detailing his gun obsession and his hatred of women. They were finally taken down yesterday after YouTube said he […]