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Police Chief Wants Citizens to Bring 'Net Oligarchs to Heel

posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday April 10 2018, @04:51AM   Printer-friendly
from the just-sue dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

One of England's top police officers, Shaun Sawyer, wants citizens to go after internet giants that have wronged them.

Sawyer, who is chief constable in Devon and Cornwall and is national lead for human trafficking and modern slavery, made the suggestion in an interview with The Sunday Times, published over the weekend.

In a paywalled article, he told the Murdoch organ that if someone is a victim of an “Internet-enabled crime”, they should sue the platform involved.

Describing the internet as a “safe space for organised crime”, he said Silicon Valley company abuses were “becoming a human injustice”.

The comments coincidentally (?) came after American authorities last week shuttered Backpage.com, a site accused of supporting human trafficking by allowing publication of advertisements for "escorts".

Sawyer believes platforms like Facebook need more policing, and he also criticised “liberal” laws.

So it's down to users, apparently: if people with the resources of the person in the street start suing the platforms, he argued, they would start using their resources to spot abuse.

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by BenJeremy on Tuesday April 10 2018, @11:50AM (1 child)

    by BenJeremy (6392) on Tuesday April 10 2018, @11:50AM (#664895)

    The guy who is in charge of upholding the law in the areas with the worst record in slavery and human trafficking is blaming the internet for all their troubles. Sounds about right... after all, making hyperbolic statements that take attention away from the crappy job you are doing is par for the course these days.

    Starting Score:    1  point
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 10 2018, @12:26PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 10 2018, @12:26PM (#664912)

    Sounds about right... after all, making hyperbolic statements that take attention away from the crappy job you are doing is par for the course these days since the dawn of mankind.

    FTFY.