Social media giants must do more to stop online-abuse

The Assembly remembers with great sadness the tragic death of another Londoner, Caroline Flack, who lived and died in the public eye.

No-one, whether a politician, a reality TV host, or an ordinary member of the public, deserves to receive multiple, anonymous hate-filled or angry social media posts and comments.

Today, the London Assembly called on the Mayor to lobby the Government to persuade social media giants to ban all anonymous accounts, as these fuel people’s feeling of impunity, freeing them to be abusive online.

Léonie Cooper AM, who proposed the motion said:

“The tragic suicide of Caroline Flack has provided yet another wake-up call for our society, that we simply cannot dismiss.

“Whilst it is true that for most of us, social media is an invaluable means of connecting with others, a significant minority continue to abuse it, bullying and spreading hatred with impunity under anonymised and largely untraceable accounts.

“This is why we are urging the Mayor to use his influence and undertake a range of actions centred around pushing the Government to pressure social media platforms to ban all anonymous accounts and any pages that promote hate or suicide.

“If these companies refuse to play ball, the Government should then step into their ethical vacuum and legislate to stop anonymous users in the UK from setting up accounts.”

The full text of the motion is:

“This Assembly notes with great sadness the suicide of another Londoner, Caroline Flack, who lived and died in the public eye. No-one, whether a politician, a reality TV host, or an ordinary member of the public, deserves to receive multiple, anonymous hate-filled or angry social media posts and comments, yet the current system of allowing anonymous accounts to be set up, that are hard or impossible to trace, allows many to act online in a totally unacceptable fashion.

This Assembly is aware that central government plans to act against the tech firms that provide the online platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, which are so often the place for abusive public commentary. In addition to the Mayor’s work on Thrive LDN, which aims to improve mental health and well-being across the capital, this Assembly calls on the Mayor to lobby the Government to:

1. Act as swiftly as possible, brooking no delay in setting up high-level meetings with the social media giants;
2. Persuade the social media giants to ban all anonymous accounts, as these fuel people’s feeling of impunity, freeing them to be abusive online;
3. Persuade the social media giants to close down all pages and accounts that promote hate or suicide;
4. In the absence of persuasion making any difference, pass legislation to prevent anonymous, UK-based users from setting up social media accounts.”