The Times report on ‘Tough New Controls on Web Giants‘ highlights much needed curbs on the inaction and flagrant disregard of social media companies to support the protection of individual rights online. In particular, our experience has been that Google, You Tube and Twitter in particular, have systematically failed to take off criminal anti-Muslim and Islamist extremist material when notified to.
Furthermore, there have been no real curbs on the use of personal data by such companies who have then further sold on the material or used it to target customers in a manner where there have been few checks and balances. This is why Theresa May’s statements, highlighted in the Times, are extremely welcome. She stated:
“We want the UK to be…..the best place for a digital business to be set up and to grow but also the safest and most secure place for people to be online.”
The article also highlights the monopoly that companies have had, and in May’s statement, read Google and You Tube. We believe that Google’s dominance in the market place and sheer disregard for the rights of individuals to have data removed which may be illegal and targeted at them, shows that more pressure has to be put onto this company. We simply cannot have organisations like this dominating the market, using data how they see fit and then disregarding the rights of individual men, women and children in our country.
We support the stance of Theresa May in ensuring stricter and stronger curbs are put on internet giants in the next Parliamentary cycle. This is essential to act as a check and balance against corporations who are running roughshod over the rights of individuals.