Community education initiatives, enhanced violence detection using Artificial Intelligence tools, and empathy-driven Minecraft games are some of the new policy steps announced by YouTube, Twitch, Microsoft, and Meta to combat 'hate-fueled violence' on their platforms. These measures fall under the 'United We Stand' campaign—a multi-pronged initiative led by United States President Joe Biden to combat the rise of hate-fueled violence in the country. The White House hosted a summit for the program on September 15th. Spreading 'violent extremist ideologies' and facilitating 'mobilization to violence' are some of the impacts technology has had on American society of late, the campaign page states. 'Today’s announcements from the tech sector take a step towards recognizing the important role companies play in designing their products and platforms to curb the spread of hate-fueled violence both online and off,' it adds. Why it matters: The United We Stand campaign page directly nods to incidents of racially and religiously motivated offences, among others, as examples of hate-fueled violence. It is clear about the role technology platforms play in spreading violent and incendiary speech. Whether this is inadvertent or deliberate negligence by platforms, and whether such reforms will actually mitigate hate-fueled violence still remains to be seen. As Tech Policy Press notes, ‘such announcements now come at a regular cadence, only slightly more predictable than the violent events that precipitate them’. YouTube has committed to removing content that glorifies violence and intends to inspire viewers to fundraise, recruit, or commit harms, regardless of whether the creator is affiliated with a recognised…
