*Idris Elba is calling on social media platforms to give all users that coveted blue check in an effort to curb racists and bullies.
“People in the public eye get verified on social media,” he wrote in a statement shared by The Shade Room, “the process of verification requires them to prove their IDENTITY, so everyone knows WHO is speaking.” He then wrote in all caps, “SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES SHOULD MAKE THIS MANDATORY FOR ALL USERS.”
The British hunk compared private accounts on social media to “boarding a plane and not having to show I.D.”
“If cowards are being supported by a veil of privacy and secrecy, then social media is not a safe place. It’s an aeroplane that allows travelers to wear balaclavas.”
READ MORE: Idris Elba Calls Accusations He Lied About COVID Diagnosis ‘Soul-Destroying’
Reposting from @idriselba’s IG. Couldn’t agree more! pic.twitter.com/0ymHit1Aka
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) July 19, 2021
Elba’s comments come amid the controversy over the racial abuse of England footballers Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford after the Euros final.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is meeting social-media executives to discuss how the companies are tackling racism and bullying.
The UK government published the Draft Online Safety Bill in May, “which attempts to tackle illegal and otherwise harmful content online by placing a duty of care on online platforms to protect their users from such content,” per the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom chief executive, told the Oxford Media Convention: “The need for regulation has come into even sharper focus over the past week, as some of our incredible England football team were subjected to racist abuse on the major social media platforms.”
“There is no place in our society for racism, whether it happens online or offline and by their own admission the platforms failed to do enough to remove these appalling comments at a critical national moment. They simply must do far better than this in the future.”
However, as reported by MSN, Ofcom won’t regulate individual tweets or posts on Facebook.
“Instead, it will be about holding platforms to account for assessing the risks to their users, and putting in place sensible, concrete measures to address them,” Dame Melanie said.
“We’ll be examining and enforcing against their systems and processes, rather than the content.”
Elba said if racist “cowards” want to spew hate online, they should “say it with [their] name” and not with their username.
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