Social media companies should be fined for failing to remove illegal or harmful material, a committee of MPs has said.
The Home Affairs Select Committee insists many websites are "shamefully far" from tackling the issue, with some putting profits before safety.
There have been a number of high profile hate crimes broadcast on social media in recent years.
In January, a man with learning difficulties was bound, gagged and brutally punched in a video that was live streamed on Facebook.
Last month, a video was uploaded to Facebook of a man being shot dead in an unprovoked attack.
The Islamic State group has also used social media as a propaganda and recruiting tool.
Timi Ariyo, a student at Bristol University, told Sky News he was a victim of online racist abuse.
He said a friend had alerted him to a video posted on Snapchat and when he looked at it, he saw a group of 10 to 15 friends he had been to school with in a pub.
"They were chanting my name, making monkey noises and racial slur," he said.
"At that point, I realised it was beyond racial banter."
A group of MPs are calling on the Government to make it illegal for social media websites not to remove harmful material.
They want fines to be introduced as punishment and would also like companies to publish quarterly reports, outlining their safeguarding strategy.
Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: "Social media companies' failure to deal with illegal and dangerous material is a disgrace.
"They have been asked repeatedly to come up with better systems to remove illegal material... yet repeatedly they have failed to do so.
"It is shameful.
"These are among the biggest, richest and cleverest companies in the world."
There are fears that social media has become a platform for terrorist propaganda, child abuse and racist attacks.
Researchers at Cardiff University have been studying online hate crimes and their frequency. Using algorithms, they analyse particular groups of words that are often used together to cause harm.
Dr Pete Burnap said: "When we see spikes of hate, following trigger attacks, they tend to be responding to ongoing issues.
"So one of the examples would be the ongoing 'us and them' narrative. People write 'send them home', 'get them out', following attacks like Westminster, picking up on immigration and foreign policy."
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: "Last month I convened a meeting with the social media companies to ask them to go further in making sure this kind of harmful material is not available on their platforms, and an industry-led forum has now been set up to more robustly address this.
"We will continue to push the internet companies to make sure they deliver on their commitments to further develop technical tools to identify and remove terrorist propaganda and to help smaller companies to build their capabilities.
"I expect to see early and effective action."
Monday, May 1, 2017
Report of frosty Brexit talks is 'Brussels gossip', PM insists
Theresa May has dismissed reports that last week's working dinner with EU officials went disastrously as "Brussels gossip".
During a campaign stop in the Lancashire town of Ormskirk, the Prime Minister rejected a newspaper's claims that Jean-Claude Juncker thinks Brexit talks will collapse.
She told a reporter: "Just look at what the European Commission themselves said immediately after the dinner took place which was the talks had been constructive.
"But it also shows these negotiations are at times going to be tough. In order to get the best deal for Britain, we've got to make sure we've got that strong and stable leadership."
Her denial follows a German newspaper article which claimed Brussels officials thought Theresa May was from a "different galaxy" to other EU member states on Brexit.
The leaked account portrayed Jean-Claude Juncker's private dinner with the Prime Minister last week as a disaster.
According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper, European Commission officials were astonished at Mrs May's ambition for the talks.
They accused her of having "no plan" and that it was unrealistic to reach a rapid resolution on the status of expatriates, an exit strategy and a trade deal within two years.
The article quotes Mr Juncker as saying that he left the dinner "10 times more sceptical that I was before".
The FAZ newspaper reported that Mrs May used the dinner to push for an early deal to secure the rights of British workers across the continent.
But Mr Juncker made clear that this could not be settled by June as suggested, given the complex negotiations on topics such as healthcare.
During a campaign stop in the Lancashire town of Ormskirk, the Prime Minister rejected a newspaper's claims that Jean-Claude Juncker thinks Brexit talks will collapse.
She told a reporter: "Just look at what the European Commission themselves said immediately after the dinner took place which was the talks had been constructive.
"But it also shows these negotiations are at times going to be tough. In order to get the best deal for Britain, we've got to make sure we've got that strong and stable leadership."
Her denial follows a German newspaper article which claimed Brussels officials thought Theresa May was from a "different galaxy" to other EU member states on Brexit.
The leaked account portrayed Jean-Claude Juncker's private dinner with the Prime Minister last week as a disaster.
According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper, European Commission officials were astonished at Mrs May's ambition for the talks.
They accused her of having "no plan" and that it was unrealistic to reach a rapid resolution on the status of expatriates, an exit strategy and a trade deal within two years.
The article quotes Mr Juncker as saying that he left the dinner "10 times more sceptical that I was before".
The FAZ newspaper reported that Mrs May used the dinner to push for an early deal to secure the rights of British workers across the continent.
But Mr Juncker made clear that this could not be settled by June as suggested, given the complex negotiations on topics such as healthcare.
Trump Says U.S. 'Can't Allow' North Korea's Missiles to Improve
(SEOUL, South Korea) — President Donald Trump said after North Korea's latest failed rocket launch that communist leader Kim Jong-Un will eventually develop better missiles, and "we can't allow it to happen."
In a taped interview broadcast Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," the President would not discuss the possibility of military action, saying: "It is a chess game. I just don't want people to know what my thinking is."
Separately, Trump's national security adviser, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, said North Korea's most recent missile test represents "open defiance of the international community." He said North Korea poses "a grave threat," not just to the U.S. and its Asian allies, but also to China.
Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," McMaster said it is important "for all of us to confront this regime, this regime that is pursuing the weaponization of a missile with a nuclear weapon."
"This is something that we know we cannot tolerate," McMaster said.
On Saturday, a North Korean mid-range ballistic missile broke up a few minutes after launch, the third test-fire flop this month. The program's repeated failures over the past few years have given rise to suspicions of U.S. sabotage.
In the CBS interview, the president was asked why the North's rockets keep blowing up.
"I'd rather not discuss it," he said. "But perhaps they're just not very good missiles. But eventually, he'll have good missiles."
He added: "And if that happens, we can't allow it to happen."
Trump also called North Korea's leader "a pretty smart cookie" for being able to hold onto power after taking over at a young age. "People are saying, 'Is he sane?' I have no idea," the president said.
North Korean ballistic missile tests are banned by the United Nations because they are seen as part of the North's push for a nuclear-tipped weapon that can hit the U.S. mainland.
In a taped interview broadcast Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," the President would not discuss the possibility of military action, saying: "It is a chess game. I just don't want people to know what my thinking is."
Separately, Trump's national security adviser, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, said North Korea's most recent missile test represents "open defiance of the international community." He said North Korea poses "a grave threat," not just to the U.S. and its Asian allies, but also to China.
Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," McMaster said it is important "for all of us to confront this regime, this regime that is pursuing the weaponization of a missile with a nuclear weapon."
"This is something that we know we cannot tolerate," McMaster said.
On Saturday, a North Korean mid-range ballistic missile broke up a few minutes after launch, the third test-fire flop this month. The program's repeated failures over the past few years have given rise to suspicions of U.S. sabotage.
In the CBS interview, the president was asked why the North's rockets keep blowing up.
"I'd rather not discuss it," he said. "But perhaps they're just not very good missiles. But eventually, he'll have good missiles."
He added: "And if that happens, we can't allow it to happen."
Trump also called North Korea's leader "a pretty smart cookie" for being able to hold onto power after taking over at a young age. "People are saying, 'Is he sane?' I have no idea," the president said.
North Korean ballistic missile tests are banned by the United Nations because they are seen as part of the North's push for a nuclear-tipped weapon that can hit the U.S. mainland.
Trump Says U.S. 'Can't Allow' North Korea's Missiles to Improve
(SEOUL, South Korea) — President Donald Trump said after North Korea's latest failed rocket launch that communist leader Kim Jong-Un will eventually develop better missiles, and "we can't allow it to happen."
In a taped interview broadcast Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," the President would not discuss the possibility of military action, saying: "It is a chess game. I just don't want people to know what my thinking is."
Separately, Trump's national security adviser, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, said North Korea's most recent missile test represents "open defiance of the international community." He said North Korea poses "a grave threat," not just to the U.S. and its Asian allies, but also to China.
Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," McMaster said it is important "for all of us to confront this regime, this regime that is pursuing the weaponization of a missile with a nuclear weapon."
"This is something that we know we cannot tolerate," McMaster said.
On Saturday, a North Korean mid-range ballistic missile broke up a few minutes after launch, the third test-fire flop this month. The program's repeated failures over the past few years have given rise to suspicions of U.S. sabotage.
In the CBS interview, the president was asked why the North's rockets keep blowing up.
"I'd rather not discuss it," he said. "But perhaps they're just not very good missiles. But eventually, he'll have good missiles."
He added: "And if that happens, we can't allow it to happen."
Trump also called North Korea's leader "a pretty smart cookie" for being able to hold onto power after taking over at a young age. "People are saying, 'Is he sane?' I have no idea," the president said.
North Korean ballistic missile tests are banned by the United Nations because they are seen as part of the North's push for a nuclear-tipped weapon that can hit the U.S. mainland.
In a taped interview broadcast Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," the President would not discuss the possibility of military action, saying: "It is a chess game. I just don't want people to know what my thinking is."
Separately, Trump's national security adviser, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, said North Korea's most recent missile test represents "open defiance of the international community." He said North Korea poses "a grave threat," not just to the U.S. and its Asian allies, but also to China.
Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," McMaster said it is important "for all of us to confront this regime, this regime that is pursuing the weaponization of a missile with a nuclear weapon."
"This is something that we know we cannot tolerate," McMaster said.
On Saturday, a North Korean mid-range ballistic missile broke up a few minutes after launch, the third test-fire flop this month. The program's repeated failures over the past few years have given rise to suspicions of U.S. sabotage.
In the CBS interview, the president was asked why the North's rockets keep blowing up.
"I'd rather not discuss it," he said. "But perhaps they're just not very good missiles. But eventually, he'll have good missiles."
He added: "And if that happens, we can't allow it to happen."
Trump also called North Korea's leader "a pretty smart cookie" for being able to hold onto power after taking over at a young age. "People are saying, 'Is he sane?' I have no idea," the president said.
North Korean ballistic missile tests are banned by the United Nations because they are seen as part of the North's push for a nuclear-tipped weapon that can hit the U.S. mainland.
Trump Says U.S. 'Can't Allow' North Korea's Missiles to Improve
(SEOUL, South Korea) — President Donald Trump said after North Korea's latest failed rocket launch that communist leader Kim Jong-Un will eventually develop better missiles, and "we can't allow it to happen."
In a taped interview broadcast Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," the President would not discuss the possibility of military action, saying: "It is a chess game. I just don't want people to know what my thinking is."
Separately, Trump's national security adviser, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, said North Korea's most recent missile test represents "open defiance of the international community." He said North Korea poses "a grave threat," not just to the U.S. and its Asian allies, but also to China.
Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," McMaster said it is important "for all of us to confront this regime, this regime that is pursuing the weaponization of a missile with a nuclear weapon."
"This is something that we know we cannot tolerate," McMaster said.
On Saturday, a North Korean mid-range ballistic missile broke up a few minutes after launch, the third test-fire flop this month. The program's repeated failures over the past few years have given rise to suspicions of U.S. sabotage.
In the CBS interview, the president was asked why the North's rockets keep blowing up.
"I'd rather not discuss it," he said. "But perhaps they're just not very good missiles. But eventually, he'll have good missiles."
He added: "And if that happens, we can't allow it to happen."
Trump also called North Korea's leader "a pretty smart cookie" for being able to hold onto power after taking over at a young age. "People are saying, 'Is he sane?' I have no idea," the president said.
North Korean ballistic missile tests are banned by the United Nations because they are seen as part of the North's push for a nuclear-tipped weapon that can hit the U.S. mainland.
In a taped interview broadcast Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," the President would not discuss the possibility of military action, saying: "It is a chess game. I just don't want people to know what my thinking is."
Separately, Trump's national security adviser, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, said North Korea's most recent missile test represents "open defiance of the international community." He said North Korea poses "a grave threat," not just to the U.S. and its Asian allies, but also to China.
Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," McMaster said it is important "for all of us to confront this regime, this regime that is pursuing the weaponization of a missile with a nuclear weapon."
"This is something that we know we cannot tolerate," McMaster said.
On Saturday, a North Korean mid-range ballistic missile broke up a few minutes after launch, the third test-fire flop this month. The program's repeated failures over the past few years have given rise to suspicions of U.S. sabotage.
In the CBS interview, the president was asked why the North's rockets keep blowing up.
"I'd rather not discuss it," he said. "But perhaps they're just not very good missiles. But eventually, he'll have good missiles."
He added: "And if that happens, we can't allow it to happen."
Trump also called North Korea's leader "a pretty smart cookie" for being able to hold onto power after taking over at a young age. "People are saying, 'Is he sane?' I have no idea," the president said.
North Korean ballistic missile tests are banned by the United Nations because they are seen as part of the North's push for a nuclear-tipped weapon that can hit the U.S. mainland.
Trump Says U.S. 'Can't Allow' North Korea's Missiles to Improve
(SEOUL, South Korea) — President Donald Trump said after North Korea's latest failed rocket launch that communist leader Kim Jong-Un will eventually develop better missiles, and "we can't allow it to happen."
In a taped interview broadcast Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," the President would not discuss the possibility of military action, saying: "It is a chess game. I just don't want people to know what my thinking is."
Separately, Trump's national security adviser, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, said North Korea's most recent missile test represents "open defiance of the international community." He said North Korea poses "a grave threat," not just to the U.S. and its Asian allies, but also to China.
Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," McMaster said it is important "for all of us to confront this regime, this regime that is pursuing the weaponization of a missile with a nuclear weapon."
"This is something that we know we cannot tolerate," McMaster said.
On Saturday, a North Korean mid-range ballistic missile broke up a few minutes after launch, the third test-fire flop this month. The program's repeated failures over the past few years have given rise to suspicions of U.S. sabotage.
In the CBS interview, the president was asked why the North's rockets keep blowing up.
"I'd rather not discuss it," he said. "But perhaps they're just not very good missiles. But eventually, he'll have good missiles."
He added: "And if that happens, we can't allow it to happen."
Trump also called North Korea's leader "a pretty smart cookie" for being able to hold onto power after taking over at a young age. "People are saying, 'Is he sane?' I have no idea," the president said.
North Korean ballistic missile tests are banned by the United Nations because they are seen as part of the North's push for a nuclear-tipped weapon that can hit the U.S. mainland.
In a taped interview broadcast Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," the President would not discuss the possibility of military action, saying: "It is a chess game. I just don't want people to know what my thinking is."
Separately, Trump's national security adviser, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, said North Korea's most recent missile test represents "open defiance of the international community." He said North Korea poses "a grave threat," not just to the U.S. and its Asian allies, but also to China.
Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," McMaster said it is important "for all of us to confront this regime, this regime that is pursuing the weaponization of a missile with a nuclear weapon."
"This is something that we know we cannot tolerate," McMaster said.
On Saturday, a North Korean mid-range ballistic missile broke up a few minutes after launch, the third test-fire flop this month. The program's repeated failures over the past few years have given rise to suspicions of U.S. sabotage.
In the CBS interview, the president was asked why the North's rockets keep blowing up.
"I'd rather not discuss it," he said. "But perhaps they're just not very good missiles. But eventually, he'll have good missiles."
He added: "And if that happens, we can't allow it to happen."
Trump also called North Korea's leader "a pretty smart cookie" for being able to hold onto power after taking over at a young age. "People are saying, 'Is he sane?' I have no idea," the president said.
North Korean ballistic missile tests are banned by the United Nations because they are seen as part of the North's push for a nuclear-tipped weapon that can hit the U.S. mainland.
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Pope Francis warns North Korea situation 'too hot'
Pope Francis has called for a third country, such as Norway, to mediate between North Korea and the US, saying the situation has become "too hot".
Speaking as he departed from a visit to Cairo, the Pope warned that "a good part of humanity" would be destroyed in any war between the two sides.
He said: "I call on - and will call on - all leaders, as I have called on leaders of various places, to work to seek a solution to problems through the path of diplomacy.
"There are so many facilitators in the world, there are mediators who offer themselves, such as Norway for example."
:: Trump: North Korea missile test 'disrespects' China
Norway brokered a deal between Israel and the Palestinians in the early 1990s known as the Oslo Accords.
The Pope also called on the United Nations to re-assert its leadership, saying it had become "too watered down".
He added that he was willing to meet US President Donald Trump when he is in Europe next month but he is not aware of the President having requested this.
North Korea recently test fired a ballistic missile, the third in the past few weeks, and this was described by Mr Trump as being "disrespectful" to China.
Mr Trump also said late last week that there was a chance of "major, major conflict" with North Korea, adding that finding a diplomatic solution was "very difficult".
But Pope Francis warned: "This question of missiles in (North) Korea has been brewing for more than a year but now it seems the situation has become has become too hot.
"We are talking about the future of humanity.
"Today, a widespread war would destroy - I would not say half of humanity - but a good part of humanity, and of culture, everything, everything.
"It would be terrible. I don't think that humanity today would be able to withstand it."
Speaking as he departed from a visit to Cairo, the Pope warned that "a good part of humanity" would be destroyed in any war between the two sides.
He said: "I call on - and will call on - all leaders, as I have called on leaders of various places, to work to seek a solution to problems through the path of diplomacy.
"There are so many facilitators in the world, there are mediators who offer themselves, such as Norway for example."
:: Trump: North Korea missile test 'disrespects' China
Norway brokered a deal between Israel and the Palestinians in the early 1990s known as the Oslo Accords.
The Pope also called on the United Nations to re-assert its leadership, saying it had become "too watered down".
He added that he was willing to meet US President Donald Trump when he is in Europe next month but he is not aware of the President having requested this.
North Korea recently test fired a ballistic missile, the third in the past few weeks, and this was described by Mr Trump as being "disrespectful" to China.
Mr Trump also said late last week that there was a chance of "major, major conflict" with North Korea, adding that finding a diplomatic solution was "very difficult".
But Pope Francis warned: "This question of missiles in (North) Korea has been brewing for more than a year but now it seems the situation has become has become too hot.
"We are talking about the future of humanity.
"Today, a widespread war would destroy - I would not say half of humanity - but a good part of humanity, and of culture, everything, everything.
"It would be terrible. I don't think that humanity today would be able to withstand it."
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