London mayor Sadiq Khan will accuse the UK Government of a “dereliction of duty” concerning big tech firms.
Speaking on Monday at a technology conference in Austin, Khan will criticise politicians for allowing tech firms to continue unregulated, stating that no firm is “above local rules”.
A preview of his speech shows the London mayor slamming governments for “sitting on their hands while the tech revolution has happened around them.”
“There’s been a dereliction of duty on the part of politicians and policymakers to ensure that the rapid growth in technology is utilised and steered in a direction that benefits us all.”
In his speech, Khan is expected to make references to Germany, a country that allows fines of up to 50 million euros if hate speech found on social media sites is not removed quickly.
“Germany is an example of where the German government said ‘Enough. Unless you take down hate messages, unless you take down fake news, we will fine you’.
As well as this, Khan will read out examples of the abusive and illegal tweets that he has received since he became mayor.
“Social media platforms already have a legal obligation to remove content that breaks local laws. But this is not always happening, or happening quickly enough. With the skills and resources these companies have at their disposal – I believe it’s possible to go further and faster.”
Instead of directly criticizing social media firms themselves, the London mayor will direct his speech towards the UK government, who have the responsibility to “mitigate against the potentially negative impacts of disruption” and “harness the very same technologies to drive up standards”
Khan will also criticize the US President, Donald Trump, for re-tweeting content from the British far-right group, Britain First.
“If you are the most powerful man in the western world, and you are amplifying messages from far-right groups, Britain First, that has an impact on many people. That group incites hatred.”