Facebook Inc. said on Thursday it was in talks with UK law enforcement officials to help support investigations into online racial abuse against English soccer players following their recent loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final.
Black players in the England team were subjected to a storm of online racist abuse after their defeat in the final of the soccer tournament, drawing wide condemnation from the squad’s captain, manager, royalty, religious leaders and politicians.
The comments also prompted a police investigation, although critics accused some ministers of hypocrisy for refusing to support a high profile anti-racist stance the players took during the tournament.
Facebook said it was in discussions with Britain’s National Police Chiefs Council, the UK Home Office Football Policing Unit and local police forces to understand how it can support active investigations, while ensuring that valid data requests are submitted.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged on Wednesday to toughen measures against online hate, banning fans from games if they are found guilty of such offenses and fining social media for failing to remove it.
Social media companies including Facebook and Twitter Inc. have come under fire for amplifying hate speech and misinformation globally across their platforms.
Facebook also removed more than 25 million hate speech posts from its platform and more than 6 million posts on Instagram that contained words or emojis promoting racism, during the first three months of the year, it said in a blog post.
Facebook in talks with UK law officials to tackle online racist abuse
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Facebook in talks with UK law officials to tackle online racist abuse
- Facebook is conducting talks with the United kingdom law enforcement officials to look into online racial abuse against English football players
- Black players in the England team were subjected to a storm of online racist abuse after their defeat in the Euro final against Italy
Apple, Google offer app store changes under new UK rules
LONDON: Apple and Google have pledged changes to ensure fairness in their app stores, the UK competition watchdog said Tuesday, describing it as “first steps” under its tougher regulation of technology giants.
The Competition and Markets Authority placed the two companies under “strategic market status” last year, giving it powers to impose stricter rules on their mobile platforms.
Apple and Google have submitted packages of commitments to improve fairness and transparency in their app stores, which the CMA is now consulting market participants on.
The proposals cover data collection, how apps are reviewed and ranked and improved access to their mobile operating systems.
They aim to prevent Apple and Google from giving priority to their own apps and to ensure businesses receive fairer terms for delivering apps to customers, including better access to tools to compete with services like the Apple digital wallet.
“These are important first steps while we continue to work on a broad range of additional measures to improve Apple and Google’s app store services in the UK,” said CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell.
The commitments mark the first changes proposed by US tech giants in response to the UK’s digital markets regulation, which came into force last year.
The UK framework is similar to a tech competition law from the European Union, the Digital Markets Act, which carries the potential for hefty financial penalties.
“The commitments announced today allow Apple to continue advancing important privacy and security innovations for users and great opportunities for developers,” an Apple spokesperson said.
The CMA in October found that Apple and Google held an “effective duopoly,” with around 90 to 100 percent of UK mobile services running on their platforms.
A Google spokesperson said existing practices in its Play online store are “fair, objective and transparent.”
“We welcome the opportunity to resolve the CMA’s concerns collaboratively,” they added.
The changes are set to take effect in April, subject to the outcome of a market consultation.
