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Rio Ferdinand claims he expected racist abuse from black England stars following their Euros penalty mishap
Rio Ferdinand claims that football is "slipping backwards" because of online racism.
The ex-captain of England spoke to a joint committee to discuss possible improvements to the government’s draft Online Safety Bill.
Ferdinand, 42, claimed that he saw his family "disintegrate" following abuses on social media.
Ferdinand stated, "Self-esteem is a sign that your mental health may be at risk."
Former Manchester United defender, said that it was disheartening to see racism in football rise to levels similar to those of the 1970s and 1980s.
After July's defeat by Italy in the Euro 2020 penalty shootout, Jadon Sancho referred to the abuse suffered by Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka from England.
Ferdinand stated, "When those three players missed those penalties the first thing that I thought was 'let’s see what happens via social media'."
"I expected [the abuse] would happen."
Rio Ferdinand: Rio Ferdinand, "I must explain the monkey Emoji to my children"
Anton Ferdinand, Ferdinand's brother, spoke before the Home Affairs select panel on Wednesday. He asked if it would be a tragedy for social media companies that they respond to online racist abuse.
Representatives from Instagram and Twitter argued that they were trying to resolve the issue at that hearing.
Katy Minshall (head of UK public policy and Philanthropy at Twitter) stated that the company was beginning to focus on how footballers can be reached on social media. Tara Hopkins, director of public policy at Instagram, claimed that 95% of hateful content has been proactively removed from the site.
"I have witnessed members of my family fall apart."
Rio Ferdinand is now a pundit, having earned 83 England caps over a 14-year career.
Rio Ferdinand stated to the joint committee of MPs that it was "baffling” that social media companies could track copyright violations on his YouTube channel, but not be able to use that technology for certain emojis or words in racist abusive posts.
He said that harmful content affects more than the person who has received it. "I have witnessed members of my family fall apart at times when it happens."
Ferdinand said, "I must sit there with my children and explain what that monkey emoji means within that context."
Former West Ham and Leeds player, David Jones, condemned the anonymity of perpetrators online, stating that it "normalized racist behavior".
He continued, "If you place it in the context that a young player supports at any level, he's looking through that feed to see racist language."
"The young person then goes to his circle of friends and says, "It's okay, it's normal, so I'll tell that at school so it is OK."
People will believe it is normal if there aren't any repercussions.
Ferdinand acknowledged that social media companies profited off prejudice. He said that putting the burden on victims to report abusers or block them was an easy way for platforms to make money.
To verify users, a 'Layed' approach is required
Ferdinand was joined by Edleen John (Football Association director for international relations, corporate affairs, equality and diversity and inclusion) and Sanjay Bhandari, Kick It Out chair.
John shared his thoughts on the draft bill's potential approach to identity verification for users of social media, suggesting a "layered” approach.
She said that social media companies believe it's a binary choice where people must provide all or none of the information.
John suggested that "multiple mechanisms" be used to address the problem, including identity verification and "default settings", which limit the reach of accounts.
This approach was believed to reduce the number of 'burner accounts', which are used to send abusive messages and then quickly deleted. Users can set up new accounts shortly thereafter.
John stated that she receives "consistently platitudes" from social-media organisations as a response to concerns. He also cited anecdotal evidence about a player who was repeatedly blocked by a platform for reporting abuse.
Bhandari stated that the current system is "frictionless"; he called for an amendment in the draft bill to give Ofcom the "power to create codes of practice".
He stated that Ofcom must be given the power to regulate legal but harmful content.
Bhandari said that the public reaction to the abuse by the England trio following the Euro 2020 final should be a model for future regulations.
He continued, "The united public condemnation that says to us what the public are asking is that every bit of hate that was spew out that night need to be removed from the platforms."
"The best way to do that is to give the regulator the ability to reflect current social practices.
"We'd have to set up checks and balances. Also, we must balance the need to deal with an evolving problem. We cannot legislate from the rear-view mirror. We must legislate from the windscreen, looking ahead.
After a July report by his organization, Imran Ahmed (CEO and founder of the Center for Countering Digital Hate) found that 94% of Instagram accounts had sent racist messages after the Euros final defeat, he spoke at the hearing.
Ahmed stated that racism against footballers does not only exist because the victim is a wealthy footballer.
"Imagine the name they would give me, my mum, or any other minority member. It's a feeling that these places aren’t for you. These are our places."
What is the online safety bill?
The hearing before the committee is one of many steps in the passage of the draft bill. It aims to "erect a new regulatory framework for dealing with harmful content online".
Draft bill imposes new obligations on social media companies to quickly remove harmful content or face multi-billion-pound penalties.
Campaigners claim the plans will lead censorship. Others warn that fines are not sufficient.
This draft legislation was two years in the making. It is especially designed to keep children safe.
It also covers racist abuse.
The bill was amended to include provisions that target online scams such as romance fraud, investment opportunities for fraud, and other types of fraud.
