Andrew Marr: Do British politicians have the backbone to stand up to the social media giants?

29 November 2022, 18:22 | Updated: 29 November 2022, 18:36

With the world's richest man, Elon Musk, removing Twitter's disinformation rules in favour of what he calls 'free speech', tonight Andrew Marr asks: do British politicians have the backbone to stand up to the social media giants?

Opening Tonight with Andrew Marr, the LBC presenter questioned the role those governing the nation play when it comes to protecting internet users from harm.

"We turn to governments, don't we, to protect us? That's their first and most basic job - hence armies, police, courts, hospitals. But there is a form of harm being pumped into almost every home in the country which is Insidious and against which we have only the most feeble of protections.

"It isn't only the material which drives young people, both boys and girls, two eating disorders and self-harm. It's also the wild political delusions, the racist conspiracies, the paranoia spewing out of the internet day after day."

Reflecting on the decision by world's richest man to remove the vetting and removal of disinformation on the platform, Marr added: "Yesterday on Twitter you could easily find a page which read like this: "Content that is demonstrably false or misleading and may lead to significant risk of harm (such as increased exposure to the virus, or adverse effects on public health systems) may not be shared on Twitter."

"But its new owner, the world's richest man Elon Musk, has taken this down in pursuit of what he calls free speech. By the middle of January, according to the numbers guys, Mr Musk will be the number one influencer on Twitter. As I say, we look to our government to protect us. So what's it doing?"

'Do politicians have the backbone to stand up to the most powerful private companies on the planet?'

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It comes as many questioned the 'watering down' of the government's new Online Safety Bill - most notably, Ian Russell. the father of Molly Russell, who killed herself after viewing dangerous and influential self-harm material online.

Marr added: "The culture secretary Michelle Donelan says today it includes stronger protections. In the end, there's a simple question here: Do British politicians have the backbone to stand up to some of the most powerful private companies on the planet?  Will the British Parliament take on the social media Giants or not?"

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"Later we will hear the view of an incredibly courageous journalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner from the Philippines, which is much further down this dangerous path than we are.

Marr added: "But first, a rare father and daughter interview you with Damian Collins, the Conservative MP and former Minister for tech; and his 15-year-old daughter Claudia, who campaigns to limit the damage done to teenagers online."