From a scene in the heart of Silicon Valley, London Mayor Sadiq Khan called on technology companies to master hate speech, talking about his own experience of violence, reinforced by one of the most influential figures on social media.
He referred to Donald Trump, who often used the mayor as an online punching bag, calling Khan a “stone-cold loser” and “very dumb.” Khan, whose family is from Pakistan, said the racial violence he received on social media had increased by 2,000% under Trump and required him to receive police protection.
“The worst thing that globalization has brought to social media is the spread of hate speech,” Hahn said, speaking at Stanford University as part of his first visit to the United States since the pandemic.
Hahn stressed the power the companies have to act, saying that in the year since Twitter banned Trump for his role in inciting the attack in the US Capitol, he received “the least racial violence of all time in five years.” Hahn’s abuse fell 75 percent in 2020, the year Trump lost the election, and another 40 percent in 2021 after Twitter’s ban, according to London City Hall statistics.
The speech came just hours after Elon Musk, who is ready to take over Twitter, announced he would allow the former US president to return to the platform.
Khan stopped condemning Musk’s plans, saying he believed “passionately in freedom of speech” and believed that those who run Twitter “will make sure you don’t see hate messages that fuel divisions.”
“The question is whether Donald Trump has learned his lesson,” Hahn said. “Everyone should have the right to be rehabilitated. And if Donald Trump will use Twitter responsibly, then everything is fine. But if he breaks the rules, there must be consequences. “
Musk spoke out about his plans for Twitter after revealing on April 4 that he had become a majority shareholder in the company and then quickly negotiated a $ 44 billion deal to buy the company. He called the decision to ban Trump “morally bad” and “extremely stupid.”
Khan called on technology companies on Tuesday to “act rationally” and introduce new algorithmic measures to prevent hate speech and misinformation. He called the current landscape “illegal.”
“On the one hand, social media, Facebook, Twitter – great,” he said. “On the other hand, [the abuse] is a consequence of lack of control and lack of regulation. “
Earlier in the day, Khan spoke with a startup finance center about how Brexit threatened London’s position as a growing technology hub and said his mission in California was in part to promote Silicon Valley-London ties.
Hahn acknowledged that the UK’s decision to leave the EU threatens to erase the “huge benefits” of having a single market – one that allows the free movement of goods, services and talent.
“We’ve seen a flight and that’s one of the reasons I’m in the United States hitting the drum for London – we can’t be complacent,” he told the Guardian.
The result of the referendum has led many companies to flee the UK: more than 440 financial companies have left the country since 2016, a 2021 study found, and those who remain face increasingly confusing fees and documents for international trade.
However, London has attracted more international technology investment than any other global city, Hahn said, citing a study by the London & Partners promotional group. From 2017 to 2021, London saw 251 US technology companies set up there, creating nearly 9,000 new jobs, according to the same study.
But while statistics show that the “worst fears” have not materialized, Hahn said, the new landscape underscores the need to move forward.
“We need to understand after Brexit that we live in a very competitive world,” he said. “We need to show that our strength is not only in technology, but also in geography, higher education and more. In the first place, it attracts people to come and keep them there. ”
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