Theresa May will tell
investors to put pressure on social media
companies
Dan Kitwood /
Getty
The prime minister will accuse social media companies
of providing a platform for extremists.
May will say terrorists, slave traders and child
abusers are using Facebook and other networks with
ease.
She will use a speech at the World Economic Forum to
urge tech investors to pile pressure on firms to act.
The PM will call on the "best brains" in tech to create
new ways of automatically identifying extremists.
LONDON — Theresa May will today launch a public attack on
Facebook and other social media companies, accusing them of
helping terrorists, slave traders and child abusers.
The prime minister will use her speech at the World Economic
Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday to call on investors to
"put pressure" on tech companies to force them to crack down on
criminals and terrorists using their networks.
"These companies simply cannot stand by while their platforms are
used to facilitate child abuse, modern slavery or the spreading
of terrorist and extremist content," May will say.
"Earlier this month a group of shareholders demanded that
Facebook and Twitter disclose more information about sexual
harassment, fake news, hate speech and other forms of abuse that
take place on the companies’ platforms.
"Investors can make a big difference here by ensuring trust and
safety issues are being properly considered. And I urge them to
do so."
The prime minister will say that social media companies have a
"responsibility" to use their "best brains" to develop new ways
of automatically removing extremist content from their platforms.
"These companies have some of the best brains in the world.
They must focus their brightest and best on meeting these
fundamental social responsibilities," she will say.
Downing Street believes the public are growing angry at
tech firms' inability or unwillingness to tackle the abuse of
social media.
Aides cite recent research by Edelman, which found
that 70% of British people believe that social media
companies don't do enough to stop illegal and extreme material
being shared on their platforms.
The study also found that a third of people now do not
believe that social media is a force for good in society.
Attack of the robots
NurPhoto/SIPA USA/PA Images
May will also use her speech to warn technology companies that
dealing with public concerns about the impact of new innovations
in artificial intelligence technology will be the "greatest tests
of leadership for our time."
She will add: "But it is a test that I am confident we can meet.
For right across the long sweep of history from the invention of
electricity to advent of factory production, time and again
initially disquieting innovations have delivered previously
unthinkable advances and we have found the way to make those
changes work for all our people."
May's speech follows the creation of a new
anti 'fake news' unit by May's government this week.
The unit, which was announced on Tuesday, will focus on the
use of social media to spread "disinformation" and propaganda by
hostile foreign powers like Russia.
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