The Guardian view on online abuse: building the web we want | Editorial

The freedoms of the internet are too often abused. Tech companies need to face up to the problem, and so - in close consultation with their readers - do publishers, including the Guardian

In the beginning was the web. A playful, creative and open space, where anyone could connect, and every assumption, every hierarchy, could be challenged. Instead of textbooks and newspapers handing down fact and opinion from on high, there was a blossoming of online communities, sparky self-starting blogs, and Wikipedia to set the wisdom of crowds to work.

Somewhere along the way, however, as the internet moved from the computer on your desk to the phone in your pocket, it ceased to be a quirky corner of life, and instead became the environment in which much human life was lived - for better, and for worse. The engagement continued, of course, but along with online camaraderie, the vituperative modes of interaction took hold: bullying, shaming and intimidation. Worse, instead of upending old assumptions, much of this new online abuse works to reinforce ancient prejudices. For women it frequently assumes a particularly violent and sexualised form, sometimes extending to public rape threats; for ethnic minorities it is often racist.

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