The giants of the web united against online violence against women

38% of women worldwide have been abused online. The percentage rises to 45% for Generation Z and Millennials, the youngest and most connected. For women of color and those in the LGBTQ + community, abuse is often worse. And the consequences can be devastating, causing mental and sometimes physical damage as unfortunately the news shows us. That’s why four web giants – Facebook, Google, Twitter and TikTok – have pledged to review their online moderation and reporting systems to address abuse of women on their platforms.

The commitment came during the Global Forum for Gender Equality convened by the United Nations in Paris, and is led by the World Wide Web Foundation, an association co-founded by one of the fathers of the Internet Tim Berners Lee. The push also comes from a letter signed by over 200 women around the world, from former heads of state to global leaders, from portive women to activists, who have appealed to social media to correct persistent weaknesses in the way which face gender-based violence online. Among the signatories are former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet and former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, celebrities including Annie Lennox, Ashley Judd, Thandiwe Newton and Emma Watson, but also former US tennis player Billie Jean King. “The Internet is the square of the twenty-first century – they write – This is where the debate takes place, communities are built, products are sold and a reputation is built. But for too many women, these digital squares are not safe. This is a threat to the world. progress on gender equality “.

The four tech companies have pledged to tackle online abuse of women by focusing on two main areas of concern in their platforms: the inability of women to control who can reply, comment and interact with their posts, the lack of clear systems and trustworthy to report abuse online. To improve the first area, the platforms are committed to offering more detailed security settings to users and improving the language by making it “easier and more accessible”. With regard to reports, however, the companies have undertaken to offer users the ability to track and manage their reports once they have been made and to report the context and language of a particular content.

“With their resources and reach, these companies have the power to curb these abuses and improve the online experiences of hundreds of millions of women and girls – explains Azmina Dhrodia, Senior Policy Manager of the Web Foundation – Now they have the chance to work. with leading experts from different fields to co-create solutions that can lead to real change. The commitments they have made today should be celebrated as a stepping stone to addressing abuse against women as a top priority. ” “We look forward to working with other leaders and technology companies to make the Internet a safer place for all women in the world,” comments Antigone Davis, Facebook’s Global Head of Safety.