Social media firms vow to crack down on posts from people-trafficking Channel gangs luring migrants into risking life and limb to enter UK
- Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is working with tech firms such as TikTok and Twitter
- It aims to tackle attempts to ‘lure’ asylum seekers onto small boats to enter UK
Social media companies are to work in partnership with the Government to crack down on posts by people-smugglers touting for Channel migrants.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the agreement with tech firms including TikTok, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) would tackle attempts to ‘lure’ asylum seekers on small boats.
He added that the voluntary partnership with the National Crime Agency (NCA) would help to combat the ‘vile trade’.
It comes after the Mail on Sunday revealed that people traffickers were using ship and flag emojis to bypass filters aimed at blocking online advertising for illegal crossings.
The arrangement will seek to direct users away from such content in the way already used to tackle content promoting extremism or eating disorders.
A group of people thought to be migrants crossing the Channel in a small boat headed in the direction of Dover, Kent (File Photo)
Among the symbols being adopted by the gangs are small boats and lorries, as well as the British and French flags and a variety of landmarks
It will also aim to prevent criminals sharing information about illegal Channel crossings, such as group discounts, free spaces for children and offers of false documents.
An ‘online capability centre’ backed by £11 million in funding will be established so officers at the NCA can work with the Home Office to report promotional posts.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok and X, have all signed up to the plans, Downing Street confirmed.
Mr Sunak said: ‘To stop the boats, we have to tackle the business model of vile people-smugglers at source. That means clamping down on their attempts to lure people into making these illegal crossings and profit from putting lives at risk.
‘This new commitment from tech firms will see us redouble our efforts to fight back against these criminals, working together to shut down their vile trade.’
Home Secretary Suella Braverman told the Mail on Sunday: ‘Thousands of these adverts are spread online encouraging people to hand over tens of thousands of pounds to get a journey on a flimsy dinghy in freezing cold conditions and risk their lives to engage in a criminal enterprise to cross the Channel.
‘These gangs and their actions are reprehensible. They are outrageous. We need to stop the gangs because they are a root cause.’
At the beginning of ‘small boats week’, No 10 said the ‘legacy’ backlog of asylum applications made before the end of June 2022 has been reduced by a third since December.
But Labour claimed it will take until 2036 to clear the existing backlog for the removal of failed asylum seekers — now standing at 40,000.
The provisional total of crossings detected by the Home Office is nearly 15,000 so far this year.
Meet acting PM… nicknamed ‘Olive’
He’s the man in charge of the country while Rishi Sunak is on holiday, but many know surprisingly little about Oliver Dowden. So here is a quick introduction to our Deputy Prime Minister:
AGE: 45
FAMILY: Married to Blythe, a teacher, with two children and family dog Betsy.
Nickname: Known as ‘Olive’ after a misspelt email sign-off while at the Conservative Research Department, following a stint teaching English in Japan.
Background: Grew up in Bricket Wood, Hertfordshire, and went to state secondary school before studying Law at Cambridge.
Once likened by The Guardian to ‘an easily shocked and slightly liberal Church of England vicar’. Says ‘Conservative values’ are ‘hard work, aspiration and getting on with life.’
Elected: Became MP for Hertsmere in 2015, beating Rishi Sunak in the selection process. In his maiden Commons speech, he said EastEnders characters Phil Mitchell and Ian Beale were his constituents — calling himself ‘the MP for Albert Square’.
The deputy PM is married to Blythe, a teacher, with two children and family dog Betsy
RELAXATION: Likes pub lunches and countryside walks.
Honours: Awarded a CBE in recognition of his five years as an adviser to David Cameron.
In 2020, he became Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and, the following year, chairman of the Conservative Party until he resigned and returned to the backbenches in June 2022.
Four months later he was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by Mr Sunak then, in April 2023, Deputy Prime Minister.
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