From California to London, the power of social media to provoke and share images of violent action has been on display in different ways this week.
At YouTube’s headquarters yesterday an attacker shot and wounded several members of staff. It was a vivid metaphor for the age — an attack on a social media organisation, shown widely on social media.
Meanwhile, in our city, the Metropolitan Police are trying to deal with a sharp rise in the murder rate, with social media being blamed as one of the causes.
Cressida Dick, the Met Commissioner, has pointed to the speed and ease with which the internet can send extreme images filmed on phones, with the result that what once might have been minor fights now escalate fast.
Social media sites, she says, “rev people up”. People “go from slightly angry with each other to ‘fight’ very quickly”.
That, sadly, may have been the case in the death this week of 17-year-old Tanesha Melbourne-Blake, whose murder may have been the indirect consequence of a gang battle made worse by posts on social media showing a fight over the weekend.
This morning also brought the sad news of the death in another incident of 16-year-old Amaan Shakoor.
Not every recent killing is linked to social media but there is enough evidence to demand action.
It’s right to expect the companies involved to crack down on online material which incites attacks. And, if they fail, then Parliament has every right to legislate.
Up to now the focus has been on hate material which encourages terrorist acts. But as London’s rising murder rate this year shows, the challenge is closer to home.
The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, will set out a strategy for dealing with serious violence next week. That is welcome.
A decade ago, when the youth murder rate in the capital surged because of knife crime, the authorities worked together to bring it down.
Although the causes have changed, and social media has added new challenges, the problem can be tackled once again.
Londoners are right to be outraged by these shocking deaths on our streets: they can and must be prevented.
Mind the pay gap
Today is the deadline for Britain’s larger businesses to report publicly on their gender pay gap. Most firms with more than 250 employees have now produced the data, including the Evening Standard.
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They show a difference of 18 per cent in average pay between men and women, driven in many cases by the preponderance of men in the most senior and better-paid executive jobs in companies.
Though employers have grumbled, and issues remain to be resolved over the quality and the auditing of the pay numbers, the overall result of the exercise has been overwhelmingly positive.
It has hugely raised the profile of equal pay and the under-promotion of women, and has spurred many companies (including this one) to do more to create a female-friendly workplace.
Some of Britain’s largest firms look like missing the deadline.
They have no excuse — and should face stiff censure, while the Tory Government that introduced this progressive policy should be commended.
The real test of its success, however, will come in the next couple of years when we see whether that unacceptable pay gap is starting to be closed.
Eurostar goes Dutch
This morning the first Eurostar full of fare-paying passengers sped its way from London to Amsterdam.
In under four hours, twice a day, you can now travel on a new direct route between the cities (the return journey will remain more complex until border controls are sorted out).
It’s the latest link in an old relationship.
In the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, Britain and the Netherlands fought sea battles to control the route between them. Nowadays that journey is an easy train ride.
Amsterdam is a welcome addition to the St Pancras departure board.
