Speech: Online Anonymity and Anonymous Abuse
Today I spoke in the House of Commons about the issue of online anonymity and abuse
Anonymity and free speech are important and need protecting, but they also shouldn’t be excuses for trolls to attack, or used for to spread false - and sometimes dangerous - misinformation
Verifying identities online is one answer to this issue. It gives users the ability to judge whether a voice is worth listening to.
Frankly, if you aren't prepared to stand up and put your name to your words why should anyone listen to you?
You can read the full speech below.
Thank my Hon Friend from Stroud for securing this important debate.
This last year we've all spent more time online, for good and for ill.
The pressure of the pandemic has shown us some of the very best parts of our society and some of the very worst. Online abuse, made that much easier through anonymity, has consistently been one of those worst elements.
And let me be clear - I am not attacking anonymity online itself. It is not always harmful - indeed it can be a force for good. However, it is currently being abused by trolls and bullies, and used to spread misinformation. This harms other users, and undermines democratic debate.
From the stories that my Hon and Rt Hon Friends here raise in passing on a daily basis, to tragic cases like that of Caroline Flack, this abuse is real and has a real impact and lasting, and sometimes lethal consequences.
When social media users are anonymous, they feel much more able to behave poorly and bully and abuse other users. It's not just me saying it - this view has been backed by repeated studies that show that anonymity makes user behaviour increasingly aggressive and violent.
Anonymity also makes it so much harder to enforce rules against such behaviour – if a troll does eventually get banned they can simply create a fresh anonymous account under a new name and continue unabated.
Online anonymity is also a key factor in the spread of disinformation, conspiracy theories, and extremism.
Organised disinformation networks exploit the ability to create fake accounts, and false identities, at scale. They use these networks to create false and misleading content, and to spread and amplify it.
Tackling this effectively is a fine balance. I have no appetite to see free speech curtailed. But if we hope to challenge disinformation and extreme content we do need to address this issue head on.
When you look at platforms like BitChute and some of the people who use them, they have weaponised free speech in a way where they are acting as if there are no boundaries. They use these platforms to propagate images and text that directly undermine the rights of other people and minority communities with hateful content.
We do need to have a proper discussion and understanding of this - anonymity wrapped in the flag of free speech is being used right now to justify the sharing of extremely hateful content and to directly assault our democratic values.
So how do we tackle this? I don't believe that we should just ban anonymity, but my Hon friend from Stroud makes exactly the right points on this issue.
We should mandate that social media platforms give the option to verify their identity. Users should have the option to block interaction with other users who choose not to verify themselves. And it should be clear to all users who is verified.
Doing this would put power back in the hands of users who want to enjoy the amazing benefits of social media and not see hate speech or fake news.
Frankly, if you aren't prepared to stand up and put your name to your words why should anyone listen to you?
