THE SNP's Chief Whip has said it is the job of the Government to regulate hate on online platforms, like Facebook.
Midlothian MP Owen Thompson pressed the Government on what proposals it would take to end hate online, following the aftermath of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen's appearance in front of MPs in October.
The former Facebook employee called for urgent external regulation to bring under control the tech company’s management and reduce the harm being done to society.
Mr Thompson backed her position in the commons for more action.
He said “A Facebook whistleblower recently revealed that hateful political ads are five to 10 times cheaper for customers in what has been referred to as subsidising hate.
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“Facebook has since banned companies from targeting ads based on users’ political belief, sexual orientation or religion.
“So, what proposals could the Government take to take account of the views of the whistleblower calling for further action to bring forward more action to end subsidising hate online?”
In the debate, the Culture Secretary said that online technology giants must remove “harmful” algorithms directing youngsters to “suicide chatrooms” or risk hefty fines and criminal action.
Nadine Dorries told social media firms to act now before the Online Safety Bill appears before MPs in the new year.
"Those online platforms, those online giants, they have the ability right now today to remove those harmful algorithms that do direct children and young people to suicide chatrooms," she said.
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“I call upon them to start that work now because if they don’t, this Bill will be here in the new year and they will then be subject to huge fines and possibly criminal action.”
The legislation is expected to force the biggest technology firms, such as Meta – formerly Facebook – and Google, to abide by a duty of care to users, overseen by Ofcom as the new regulator for the sector.
Ms Dorries replied: “The examples that he has just highlighted, I am very confident every one of them will be legislated for in the regulations framework which will be given to Ofcom to regulate those online platforms once the Bill becomes law.”
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