Social media giants snub talks to tackle ‘Wild West’ internet

Only four out of 14 tech giants invited to help a government consultation on social media regulation showed up to talks, the culture secretary has admitted.

Andrew Marr show presenter Emma Barnett said the lack of enthusiasm among the firms, coupled with the fact that Mark Zuckerberg had also resisted requests to give evidence before MPs, suggested Britain did not have "this kind of power".

Matt Hancock admitted that as secretary of state he did not have the rank to get the companies invited to meet him.

He replied: "I very much agree with you and that is one of the reasons we're legislating. The fact that only four of the companies turned up when I invited 14 gave me a big impetus to drive this proposal to legislate through. Before this and until now there has been this argument of 'work with the companies, do it on a voluntary basis, they'll do more that way because the lawyers won't be involved'."

Over the weekend Hancock unveiled a new strategy to tackle the internet's "Wild West" culture. The Data Protection Bill currently going through parliament will give the government powers to impose up to £1bn – or 4 per cent of global turnover – in fines for the biggest firms that fail to adhere to regulations around conduct, child safety and transparency.

Read more: Hancock: Platforms must "come clean" as government prepares to get tough

He said he hoped the new laws would mean all social media users would have to have their age verified before accessing the platform, adding that the government was worried about age verification. Hancock would not say, however, how many children would have to be wrongfully online for the government to impose its fines.

NSPCC CEO Peter Wanless said: “For government to finally commit to laws to protect children online is a huge step forward and a victory for the NSPCCs Wild West web campaign.

“Crucially these laws will seek to protect young people from online crimes such as grooming, as well as other harms like bullying.

“This is where the real work starts. Its vital the safety code, the regulator that enforces it, and the transparency measures to hold social networks to account are all enshrined in law."

Read more: The battle against fake news has begun – beware your own emotions

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CityAM

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