69% of those asked believe there should be criminal proceedings against company directors who fail to tackle harmful, but not illegal, content on their platforms.
A majority of voters believe that there should be criminal proceedings against company directors who fail to tackle harmful content on their platforms, an exclusive poll for LFF has revealed.
The poll, conducted by Savanta:ComRes, showed that 69% of those asked believe there should be criminal proceedings against company directors who fail to tackle harmful, but not illegal, content on their platforms, compared to just 6% who oppose such a move.
Support for criminal sanctions against bosses was highest amongst those aged 65 and over at 75% and lowest among those aged 18-24 at 58%. 76% of Conservative Party voters supported criminal proceedings against company directors who fail to tackle harmful content on their platforms, compared to 69% of Labour Party voters and 79% of Liberal Democrat voters.
The poll also found that 75% of those asked support large fines for companies that fail to tackle harmful content on their platforms within a certain timeframe, compared to just 5% who oppose them. When it comes to age, 84% of those aged 65 and over supported imposing large fines on companies that fail to tackle harmful content on their platforms compared to 64% of 18-24 year olds. 74% of those living in London supported larger fines while just 70% of those living in the West Midlands did too.
Looking at party affiliation, 83% of Conservative Party voters supported large fines for companies that fail to tackle harmful content on their platforms within a certain timeframe, as did 80% of Labour voters and 81% of Lib Dem voters and 85% of Green Party voters.
Voters were also asked whether they supported stricter rules on what defines harmful content, with 74% in support, compared to 5% who were against. A majority of voters across all age groups supported the measure. 82% of Conservative Party voters supported stricter rules on what defines harmful content, as did 76% of Labour Party voters and 80% of Liberal Democrat voters along with 69% of Green Party voters.
Representative poll of 2258 GB adults. Prepared by Savanta: ComRes
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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