Sign on: Take control of your Internet

Every day, users on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram face harassment, threats, slurs, and intimidation.1 Despite teams of world-class engineers, designers, and more – Big Tech hasn’t taken action. 

Enough is enough. These giants have gone unchecked for too long. We’re sick and tired of their endless excuses and mismanagement. 

Platforms need to do better at protecting us from online abuse and make these tools put power back in our hands accessible and readily available. Sign the petition demanding that Big Tech give us control over our online experience!

To: Head of Policy at Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, TikTok

I am demanding that you, social media operators, give me agency over my online experience.

We rely on you to ensure online spaces are safe and inclusive, yet we regularly experience hostility, harassment, and abuse on your platforms. It’s time for change. 

I am calling on you to immediately commit to making the following changes to give me control over my own online experience. 

  1. Create user-friendly privacy settings that explicitly define how each setting affects my security.
  2. Build dashboards that users can use to filter out content and review, approve, and isolate abusive posts.
  3. Equip users with the ability to establish their own rapid response teams of trusted allies who can rapidly react to harm and remove abusive content before it spreads.

This campaign is hosted by OpenMedia. We will protect your privacy, and keep you informed about this campaign and others. Find OpenMedia's privacy policy here.

In 2021, 41% of Americans experienced online harassment,2 81% of Americans feel that platforms don't take enough action to address online hate,3 and a third of Canadian Internet users between 18-34 either witnessed or experienced online harassment.4

Social media platforms are engines designed to churn out content. For them, success means having the algorithm keep your attention on a constant stream of immediate, viral content.5,6 Our safety is an afterthought at best; features that protect users are often implemented to clean up only AFTER the damage is done.7,8

We need a combination of public accountability, transparency, and oversight. The first step is equipping users with the tools to regulate abusive content for themselves. Even with their teams of world-class engineers, product designers, and analysts, these platforms still haven't put in the work to protect you; it's time we take matters into our own hands. 

You should feel empowered to decide what protective measures fit your needs and be able to take action before abuse spreads. Platforms must give us tools to control our online experience – we need user-friendly privacy settings, dashboards to filter content, and trusted allies to remove abusive content. 

This is an obvious fix; we must hold Big Tech accountable for its inaction. A free and open Internet allows you to feel safe expressing yourself without harm.

Sources

  1. The State of Online Harassment - Pew Research Center
  2. See 1
  3. Online Hate and Harassment: The American Experience 2021 - Anti Defamation League 
  4. New poll finds one-third of young adults have experienced online harassment in the past year - CIRA
  5. No Excuse for Abuse - PEN America
  6. Code-Dependent: Pros and Cons of the Algorithm Age - Pew Research Center
  7. See 1 
  8. See 5

If you haven't taken action yet click here

Press: Matt Hatfield | Phone: +1 (888) 441-2640 ext. 0  | [email protected]