SOCIAL media giants have been warned they will face further restrictions if they do not take a “no-tolerance approach” to online abuse.
Furious Conservative MPs have ordered them to impose mandatory ID for opening accounts and life bans on repeated hate speech.
More than 50 backbenchers have signed a letter warning companies that their “inaction” means they have become “facilitators of abuse.”
They spoke out in the face of growing pressure for a crackdown on online hate following the murder of Sir David Amess.
The letter, written by Meriden MP Saqib Bhatti, was sent to bosses at Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Reddit and TikTok.
He says: “There are those who use social media and online platforms to commit heinous abuse knowing that little or no action will be taken against them.
“Despite many calls for change, we believe that insufficient action is being taken to address it.
“Abuse that is not tolerated in the physical world is allowed to escalate in the online world. “
MEPs highlight the “odious racist abuse” of English footballers after Euro 2020 and threats against women.
They warn: “Unfortunately, if you are in public life, whether as a sportsman or a politician, you are seen as a ‘fair game’. “
They are calling for a “three strikes and you are out” policy and an expansion of what is considered racist to include slurs like monkey emojis.
The letter was signed by 51 Conservative MPs, including former Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom and former Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb.
Two minute silence in memory of Tory MP Sir David Amess a week after his assassination
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