How to force social media platforms to clean up

Change safe harbour laws to hold tech giants accountable for toxic content

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In the hours after the El Paso, Texas, shooting on Aug 3, Mr Fredrick Brennan, founder of online message board 8chan - the site that had hosted the racist manifestos of the men responsible for the El Paso; Christchurch, New Zealand; and Poway, California, shootings - called for the site to be shut down.

In an interview with The New York Times, he said: "It's a complete negative to everybody except the users who are there. And you know what? It's a negative to them too. They just don't realise it."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 12, 2019, with the headline How to force social media platforms to clean up. Subscribe