The government must ramp up its efforts to counter online hate rather than delay its digital protection legislation, Labour has said, as the home secretary called for further action from social media platforms after anger over antisemitic posts by grime artist Wiley.
The series of anti-Jewish comments made online by the musician was one of a number of incidents cited by Labour, as well as the torrent of abuse faced by the former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott and racist posts about the footballers Wilfried Zaha and David McGoldrick.
Priti Patel said posts from Wiley were “abhorrent” and said she had asked Twitter and Instagram why they had been allowed to remain up for almost 12 hours. “Social media companies must act much faster to remove such appalling hatred from their platforms,” she said.
Ministers have said the online harms bill, unveiled as a landmark piece of legislation after teenager Molly Russell killed herself after viewing self-harm images online, will be brought to parliament as soon as possible.
However, DCMS minister Caroline Dinenage told a Lords committee last month she could not commit to a draft bill appearing even next year, saying the coronavirus pandemic had led to delays in the work. In a Lords report, peers said that could mean it would not be implemented until 2024, seven years after first being proposed.
Labour pointed to analysis that showed Abbott received more than half of all the abuse on social media aimed at female MPs, as well as new evidence that the anti-vaccine movement has been growing on other social media platforms.
Jo Stevens, the shadow secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said only legislation would force social media companies to take action.
The Labour MP said: “Social media companies have had repeated opportunities to show they can police their sites effectively. But when high-profile individuals are allowed to keep their platforms after spreading vile antisemitic abuse – and then doubling down when challenged – it’s clear that self-regulation isn’t working.
“The government promised this bill more than a year ago – it’s high time they showed they take the safety of those who use the internet as seriously as the needs and influence of the big tech firms.”
Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said the legislation must be brought forward urgently.
He said: “Twitter’s failure to enforce their own rules and ban Wiley from using its service to spread abhorrent antisemitism is typical behaviour from social media companies, which profit from outrage, attention and the time spent by users on their websites, being served advertising.
“It’s not just hatred – social media platforms have refused to remove misinformation about the coronavirus and vaccines, during a pandemic when lies cost lives. There is no excuse for delay. The government must urgently table the online harms bill to put an end to vile hatred and dangerous medical misinformation online.”
A DCMS spokesperson said: “There is no delay, and we continue to work at pace to deliver the most comprehensive regime to tackling online harms anywhere in the world. We will bring forward new legislation after we publish the full government response this autumn as planned.
“We will introduce new laws to place a duty of care on online platforms to ensure they keep their users safe.”