Responding to the role of social media platforms amid the ongoing racist and Islamophobic violence in the UK, Pat de Brún, Deputy Director at Amnesty Tech, said: 

“In light of the ongoing racist attacks and Islamophobic violence spreading across the UK, we must not overlook how Big Tech platforms offer the far-right a powerful venue to incite hate and organize. 

“In the UK, the racist violence that has spilled across the streets follows a period of intense scapegoating of refugees and migrants by politicians and others, through dangerous rhetoric and policies. In this context, social media algorithms have actively amplified and escalated xenophobic discourse. 

In light of the ongoing racist attacks and Islamophobic violence spreading across the UK, we must not overlook how Big Tech platforms offer the far-right a powerful venue to incite hate and organize. 

Pat de Brún, Deputy Director at Amnesty Tech

“These toxic algorithms are deliberately designed to prioritize engagement above all else. As a result, they act as incendiaries that fuel division, disinformation, and hate. These algorithms are integral to many Big Tech companies’ surveillance-based business model, which seeks to amass ever more of our intimate personal data. This model has enabled eye-watering profits for a lucrative Big Tech industry, but has entailed disastrous long-term consequences for human rights, in particular for those most marginalized in society. 

“Now more than ever, it is clear that the incredibly invasive and harmful mass surveillance undertaken by major social media platforms must be banned and that their algorithms should be subject to strict regulatory oversight to ensure the protection of our rights.”

Background

Starting last month, racist violence has continued across parts of the United Kingdom with clashes between rioters and police taking place on Monday night in Belfast, Darlington in northeast England and Plymouth in the south.