U.K. Urges Google, Facebook To Tackle Harmful Online Content

(RTTNews) - U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged Google, Facebook Inc. and Snapchat Inc. to commit to developing ways that might identify and tackle harmful content, including that promote suicide.

He wants the U.K. to be the safest place to be online and give parents the confidence to know their children are safe when they use social media. The government will legislate to tackle harmful content online, but it will also work with social media companies to act now, Matt Hancock said in a statement.

The web giants have been told by the Government to meet with the Samaritans charity over plans to rid the internet of self-harm videos and other content.

Social media companies and the U.K. Government have been under pressure to act following the death of 14-year-old schoolgirl Molly Russell in 2017.