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Never fear, the White House is here to tackle web trolls
'No one should have to endure abuse just because they are attempting to participate in society'
A US task force aims to prevent online harassment and abuse, with a specific focus on protecting women, girls and LGBTQI+ individuals.
In the next 180 days, the White House Task Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse will, among other things, draft a blueprint on a "whole-of-government approach" to stopping "technology-facilitated, gender-based violence."
A year after submitting the blueprint, the group will provide additional recommendations that federal and state agencies, service providers, technology companies, schools and other organisations should take to prevent online harassment, which VP Kamala Harris noted often spills over into physical violence, including self-harm and suicide for victims of cyberstalking as well mass shootings.
"The white supremacist who murdered 10 Black people in Buffalo, New York, was first radicalized, by all accounts, online," Harris said, in prepared remarks to inaugurate the task force.
"And after the massacre of 19 children — 19 babies — and two teachers in Uvalde, it was revealed that the shooter had threatened to kidnap, rape, and kill teenage girls on Instagram," she added.
The White House Gender Policy Council and National Security Council will co-chair the task force, and other members include Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other Cabinet members and agency heads.
In addition to the task force, the White House also announced $3 million to fund initiatives that use technology to increase access to victims' services and assist service providers in preventing online abuse.
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One in three women in the US under the age of 35 have reported being sexually harassed online, and more than half of LGBTQI people say they've been the target of severe online abuse, according to the federal government.
Additionally, almost one in four Asian Americans have been called an offensive name online, and Black people are three times more likely to be targets for online abuse because of their race, Harris said.
"No one should have to endure abuse just because they are attempting to participate in society," she added.
The task force follows a couple of proposed federal data privacy bills moving through the US Senate.
Abuse of personal data is still abuse
Earlier this week, lawmakers held a hearing on the bipartisan American Data Privacy and Protection Act, which is the broader of the two. It covers consumer awareness, transparency requirements, individual rights and control over stored data, consent and opt-out rights, data protections for children and minors, third-party data collector obligations, algorithmic transparency requirements, data security requirements, the extent of corporate responsibility, and how enforcement will be handled.
Also this week, a group of Democratic Senators introduced a bill that would ban the sale of health and location data in response to the Supreme Court's draft proposal to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Harris, in her task force remarks, noted how criminalizing abortion would impact women's privacy and connected the dots between overturning Roe and online harassment and stalking.
"In states where abortion is criminalized, an abuser could purchase a woman's location history through a data broker," Harris said, adding that an abuser could then turn this information over to law enforcement in states where abortion is illegal.
"So let us be clear: No one should be afraid that an abuser will use their private personal data — or that a person's private personal data will be used against them," Harris continued. "And all people deserve to use the Internet free from fear." ®