London Mayor Sadiq Khan used his keynote speech at SXSW 2018 in Austin, Texas, on Monday to take a powerful stand against hate speech online.
Khan, who in 2016 became the first Muslim mayor of a European Union capital, read aloud a sample of the Islamophobic abuse he receives via social media every day.
“Kill the Mayor of London and you will be rid of one Muslim terrorist,” one post said. “Deport all Muslims and make London white again,” said another.
Khan told the audience he wasn’t asking for sympathy or wanting to be portrayed as a victim. But he asked: “What happens when young boys and girls from minority backgrounds see this kind of thing on their timelines or experience it themselves?”
“We simply must do more to protect people online,” he added.
Khan later shared video of himself reading the abusive posts:
Khan, who has repeatedly clashed with President Donald Trump, called out social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, for their role in the proliferation of online hate speech.
He said he welcomed that they were “finally developing” the technology to make the process of reporting and removing hate speech “quicker and more effective.”
“But with the skills and resources these companies have at their disposal, I believe it’s possible to go further and faster,” he added.
Should social media companies’ efforts stall, Khan suggested “more countries will start to follow or go further than” Germany, where sites face tough fines if they do not remove banned content within 24 hours.
Khan further chastised governments and lawmakers who have been passively “sitting on their hands while the tech revolution has happened around them.”
Check out Khan’s full speech below: