Arrest made in connection with Criado-Perez Twitter threats
A 21-year-old man has been arrested after feminist campaigner and journalist Caroline Criado-Perez was subjected to a torrent of abuse via Twitter.
Ms Criado-Perez faced threats of rape and violence following her successful campaign to bring the a woman’s face to the bank note. Author Jane Austen will appear on the £10 note as of 2017.
Speaking of the abuse, Ms Cradio-Perez told BBC News: “I can’t repeat them on air because they were extremely graphic but they were threats of sexual violence, they were threats of rape.”
According to the campaigner, the abuse began the very day the news was announced. She decided to report the abuse to the police after receiving “about 50 abusive tweets an hour for about 12 hours.”
The arrest will come as welcome news, but Twitter’s “inadequate” procedure for reporting abuse such as this has become a main talking point. The social media platform has come under fire from many, including the Labour party.
Labour said on Sunday it had written to Twitter, labelling the platform “weak” for nudging Ms Cradio-Perez in the direction of the police.
The Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper wrote: “Of course it is right to report such abuse to the police. But the social media platforms also have a responsibility for the platform they give users.”
At the very least there have been calls to introduce a “report abuse” button to the social media platform known to be littered with bullies and internet trolls. An online petition had been signed by more than 40,000 by 21:00 BST on Sunday.
Keumars Afifi-Sabet
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