'Urgent' need for web hate crackdown as Plymouth shootings anniversary looms
Labour has urged the Government to press ahead with tougher rules for social media firms as the anniversary of a hate-filled murderer’s shooting spree looms.
Jake Davison, 22, killed five people during a shotgun rampage in Keyham, Plymouth, on August 12, 2021. Next Saturday marks two years since the attack in which Davison killed his mother Maxine, 51; Sophie Martyn, three; her father Lee, 43; Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate Shepherd, 66, before turning the gun on himself.
An inquest jury earlier this year heard he held strongly misogynistic views and made “disturbing” online posts. The revelations sparked fresh calls for a clampdown on web hate - and demands for ministers to speed-up the long-delayed Online Safety Bill. The legislation was going through its Lords stages before Parliament went into recess for the summer.
Supporters of a crackdown highlighted this week’s legal threat by billionaire Elon Musk, who owns X Corp - which runs the social media platform formerly known as Twitter - to sue an anti-hate organisation whose research criticised the social media platform.
X Corp accused the London-based Centre for Countering Digital Hate of "unlawful acts" to "improperly gain access" to its data. But CCDH’s chief executive Imran Ahmed hit back saying: "Elon Musk's latest legal threat is straight out of the authoritarian playbook - he is now showing he will stop at nothing to silence anyone who criticises him."
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Jake Davison killed five people during a shotgun rampage in Keyham, Plymouth, on August 12, 2021 (PA)Shadow Tech Minister Alex Davies-Jones said the row between X Corp and CCDH, coupled with the approaching anniversary of the Plymouth attack, showed why the Government needed to urgently press ahead with its shake-up. "We've had six years of Tory broken promises on online safety,” she told the Mirror.
“The watchdogs lack power and social media firms aren’t taking responsibility for the content on their platforms. As it stands, powerful tech companies can undermine charities and organisations that work hard to protect kids online. This is leaving everyone exposed to harmful content like violence, pornography and misinformation.
“As we approach the second anniversary of the tragic shootings in Plymouth which saw five people killed by a man fascinated by disturbing online posts, the need for new laws couldn’t be more urgent. Labour backs changing the law as soon as possible. The Government has dragged its heels for years. The damage is untold. It’s time for Rishi Sunak to get on with it.”
A Government spokesperson said: "In a matter of months, our groundbreaking Online Safety Bill will become law and we're working closely with Ofcom to make sure the protections it puts in place are enforced as soon as possible. But we’ve been clear companies shouldn’t wait for the legalisation to come into force before acting and the progress of the Bill means they should begin to improve safety and prepare for regulation now.”
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