Technology

Posted on February 9, 2018 by staff

Big Brother star says crackdown on ‘trolls’ is long overdue

Technology

Entrepreneur and former Big Brother contestant Rebecca Jane has welcomed the Government’s plans to review ‘trolling’ laws and make the internet a safer place.

Jane, who once received 35,000 direct tweets in just 24 hours following an appearance on Big Brother, says the decision to review online harassment laws can’t come soon enough.

“If we can’t behave ourselves, someone needs to step in,” the founder of The Lady Detective Agency told BusinessCloud. “Anything would be an improvement. Right now it’s just a free-for-all.”

In spring the Government will reveal a new social media ‘code of practice’ for the likes of Facebook and Twitter which could demand that social media platforms do more to tackle offensive online content.

The new plans also include an annual internet safety transparency report, which will provide detail on offensive data and what action the Government is taking.

Jane has previously spoken about the abuse she suffered. She said her experience trying to report abuse on Twitter needs the most improvement.

“Anyone could do a better job than Twitter,” she said. “It’s absolutely astounding the things they get away with.”

The mother-of-two will be sharing more of her social media experiences at BusinessCloud’s latest breakfast event ‘Social media – friend or foe?’ on February 27.

Despite the abuse, Jane has refused to quit social media but doesn’t want anyone to experience the same abuse. “A lot of people don’t have a skin as thick as mine,” she said. “It’s those people we need to protect.”