After NITDA’s Codes for Social Media Platforms, US Govt Inaugurates Task Force on ‘Online Abuse’

The United States Government has announced that it was establishing an interagency task force to fight harassment and abuse online.

The move by the White House came barely four days (on Thursday) after the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, (on Monday) released its ‘Code of Practice’ for Interactive Computer Service Platforms/Internet Intermediaries and Conditions for Operating in Nigeria.

The Code of Practice was developed in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), as well as input from Interactive Computer Service Platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google, and Tik Tok, among others.

PRNigeria, during the week, had reported that Social media giants, Meta, Google, Twitter and Microsoft agreed to take a tougher line against disinformation including deep fakes and fake accounts, under an updated European Union (EU) code of practice or face hefty fines.

Over 30 signatories including advertising bodies have signed up for the updated Code of Practice on Disinformation, the European Commission said.

The signatories agree to do more to tackle deep fakes, fake accounts and political advertising while non-compliance can lead to fines as much as 6% of a company’s global turnover.

Read Also: Days After Releasing NITDA Code of Practice, Google, Twitter Update ‘Practice Code on Disinformation’

According to the US government, harassment and online abuse, disproportionately affects women, girls, and LGBTQ individuals, as well as racial minorities.

The White House also blamed online abuse and harassment for the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde.

Biden officially signed the Task Force into being on Thursday, and gave it 180 days to come up with recommendations for federal policies to combat harassment and abuse online.

By PRNigeria