Digital IDs Needed To End 'Mob Rule' Online, Says UK's Security Minister (independent.co.uk)

Digital IDs should be brought in to end online anonymity that permits "mob rule" and lawlessness online, the security minister of United Kingdom has said. From a report: Ben Wallace said authentication used by banks could also by employed by internet firms to crack down on bullying and grooming, as he warned that people had to make a choice between "the wild west or a civilised society" online. He also took aim at the "phoniness" of Silicon Valley billionaires, and called for companies such as WhatsApp to contribute to society over the negative costs of their technology, such as end-to-end encryption. It comes after Theresa May took another step against tech giants, saying they would be ordered to clamp down on vile attacks against women on their platforms. The prime minister will target firms such as Facebook and Twitter as she makes the pitch at the G7 summit this weekend, where she will urge social media firms to treat violent misogyny with the same urgency as they do terror threats. Mr Wallace told The Times: "A lot of the bullying on social media and the grooming is because those people know you cannot identify them. It is mob rule on the internet. You shouldn't be able to hide behind anonymity."

Comments

UK's security minister

[b0s0z0ku]

UK's security minister needs to go bugger a diseased goat, says anyone who's not an authoritarian skumbag...

Re: UK's security minister

[JaredOfEuropa]

No kidding. Similar sentiments can sometimes be heard in the EU Parliament: a desire for more control over undesirable speech, enshrining "islamophobia" into law and equating it with discrimination. This has little to do with the "evil EU" by the way, many national polticians would love to have more control over what is being said online as well.

A nice example: many members of a group protesting against a planned refugee center in a Dutch town received a visit from the police, after a few heated online debates on the topic. The police and the responsible minister claim that the visits were well-meant, aimed at giving protesters a "friendly warning" before they cross the line. Sure. But you can also be sure that such a visit will be felt as deeply intimidating by many. Post something relatively innocuous online and have uniformed cops in your living room the next day? Yeah, those guys will probably be a little but more careful about what they write online. Mission accomplished.

Another example: a cartoonist working under a pseudonym was arrested in the middle of the night by a 9-strong SWAT team, for the crime of making nasty cartoons. In the end they found only 1 or 2 cartoons that actually ran afoul of discrimination laws, but... the guy stopped drawing after that arrest. Mission accomplished.

The real scary part is that few people care. Many might think that such tactics are a little heavy-handed, but then immediately say: "we're better off without that filth online"

civilisation == heirarchal society

[OrangeTide]

Or at least that is what the people on the top want the rest of us to believe. An authoritarian's ideal structure is one with a small number at the top and the rest of the people on the bottom. Online communication is the most profound change to society in the last few centuries, perhaps in all of human history. So of course authoritarian-leaning people want to be the gatekeepers to it.

Fear mongering would be telling you that we'll have a lawless wild west if we don't quickly transfer authority to a central entity. As if this is an either or scenario.

Re: Nazi left

[Zontar The Mindless]

So Francisco Franco was a leftist?

What'd be good for you would be a little knowledge of actual history.

Your claims regarding American politics are also highly suspect. The truth of the matter is that US Democrats would be considered "moderate right" in just any other Western country, and Republicans would be considered "far right". NO viable player on the US espouses anything like an actual leftist agenda, because, to begin with, not one of them presents any serious challenge to the 1% or the corporations. When there's a party, represented by candidates on national ballots, that has the balls to espouse things like nationalisation of industry, breakup and redistribution of large estates, universal free education at all levels, and universal free health care, then you'll know that the US has finally grown a left wing.

Placing or keeping the means of production in a few favoured private hands is a hallmark of right-wing régimes.

Re:Anonymity isn't the cause.

[KozmoStevnNaut]

Some of the most virulent behavior I've seen online has been on Facebook, from people who are ostensibly using their real names.