Safer Internet Day: Can social media companies be trusted?

As it's Safer Internet Day, perhaps it's apposite to ask this question: can the social media companies be trusted? During the time I responded to the English government’s Green paper on internet safety,  which puts all its faith in a voluntary code and voluntary contributions to a central fund, I read the following articles:

·         Twitter, It’s Time to End Your Anything-Goes Paradise

·         Google collects Android users’ locations even when location services are disabled

·         Is Facebook beyond all hope as regards dialogue?

·         Peppa Pig's tale of torture? Why parents can't rely on platforms like YouTube Kids for child-friendly fare

·         We Can’t Trust Facebook to Regulate Itself

·         Plus a couple of articles by Tanya Byron, pointing out that a voluntary code has failed in the UK for the past decade, but which are accessible only by subscription to The Times. However, this one makes the same points: NSPCC calls for mandatory social media code of practice.

There’s a common myth that the social media companies are too powerful to be brought into line. But when it comes to business practice, they have been, as evidenced by the implementation of new EU rules on VAT, cookies and data protection. Germany has done something about it:

Social media companies could face big fines in Germany if they don’t remove hate speech within 24 hours.

So what’s the problem?

It seems to me that there are two sides to this. Yes, we need to teach kids (and adults) how to be safe online, but I also think the social media companies could do rather more to help.

This is a slightly amended version of an article originally published in my newsletter, Digital Education. Subscribe for free here: Newsletter.