Ofcom Warned Toxic Abuse Threatens Female Sport

The caput of Sport England has written to Ofcom, nan communications manufacture regulator, to definitive its "deep interest regarding nan caller activity of racist and sexist abuse" directed astatine England's women's shot squad connected societal media.

Chris Boardman, nan president of nan organization athletics backing agency, said "the toxic civilization that persists online threatens to undermine" efforts to summation rates of female participation.

Lionesses defender Jess Carter has revealed she has been targeted pinch online racist abuse passim nan tournament.

In a missive seen by BBC Sport, Boardman warned: "This behaviour is abhorrent and unacceptable successful immoderate context, but it is particularly disheartening fixed nan advancement we person made successful championing women and girls successful sport.

"Through Sport England and National Lottery investment, we person committed hundreds of millions of pounds to summation participation, visibility and opportunity for women and girls successful sport."

In October 2023, the Online Safety Act became law, ensuring societal media platforms person a work to protect users from contented specified arsenic racism, pinch Ofcom responsible for enforcing nan legislation, and processing codes of believe to guideline tech companies. However, immoderate anti-racism campaigners judge location needs to beryllium much urgency.

"The Online Safety Act 2023 provides a model to reside forbidden and harmful content, including dislike reside and misogynistic abuse," wrote Boardman.

"We are peculiarly willing successful really nan caller codes tin beryllium utilized to reside nan benignant of targeted maltreatment we are seeing. We understand that Ofcom has besides issued draught guidance connected improving online information for women and girls, and we would invited nan opportunity to talk really these measures tin beryllium strengthened and enforced.

"For excessively long, net trolls person been fixed free rein by nan large tech companies to dispersed bile and misery, and this cannot beryllium allowed to continue.

"Could you please counsel what further steps tin beryllium taken wrong nan existent regulatory model to tackle misogyny and racism online?"

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told BBC Sport that societal media companies and Ofcom "need to do more".

"I deliberation nan enactment will proceed to beryllium tested each clip a problem surfaces and it's incumbent connected those specified arsenic Ofcom and societal media platforms to beryllium proactive successful rooting this out," she said.

"We brought successful nan Online Harms Act this twelvemonth to make judge location are sanctions for companies that don't return this contented down and we are doing a batch of activity successful schools to amended young group astir nan effect of online maltreatment but it's incumbent connected each of america to telephone this out.

"It's perfectly disgraceful what [Jess Carter] has had to put up pinch and we are wholly down her and nan Lionesses."

Ofcom has been approached for comment.