Bristol Sport Foundation are joining forces with the Bristol Sport group in urging social media companies to use the power of their global systems to help bring online abuse to an end.
From 3pm today (Friday) until 11.59pm on Monday, May 3rd, all official social media channels will fall silent and we’re urging our supporters and partners to also support the boycott.
You can still find out up to date news and information on the official website or via our app.
Chief Community Officer Ben Breeze said: “Bristol Sport Foundation is proud to join the Bristol Sport group and other professional clubs in this weekend’s social media boycott to highlight the dangers of online abuse and the hurt it can cause.
“Abuse of all kinds is unacceptable, the reach and accessibility of social media unfortunately enables small numbers of users to make inappropriate and abhorrent comments which we will not tolerate.”
We therefore urge social media companies to:
· filter and block messages and posts before being sent or posted if they contain racist or discriminatory material
· operate robust, transparent, and swift measures to take down abusive material if it does get into circulation
· mandate that all users should be subject to an improved verification process that (only if required by law enforcement) allows for accurate identification of the person behind the account. Steps should also be taken to stop a user that has sent abuse previously from reregistering an account
· actively and expeditiously assist the investigating authorities in identifying the originators of illegal discriminatory material
If you have suffered online abuse, you can report it here:
https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/report/online-bullying-threatening-messages/
