Vice President Kamala Harris is set to convene the first meeting of a White House national task force dedicated to combating online harassment and abuse.
U.S. tennis champion Sloane Stephens is expected to be among the first to speak with the task force, composed of Cabinet members and top White House aides, during its inaugural gathering on Thursday.
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The joint White House Gender Policy Council and National Security Council task force will make recommendations to President Joe Biden, who initially proposed the interagency project during his 2020 campaign, in six months. Those recommendations will focus on the federal government, in partnership with the private sector and civil society, with the aim of providing more support to victims and strengthen offender and platform accountability, according to senior administration officials.
“We commit to better understanding and addressing the nexus between online misogyny and radicalization to violence,” one staffer told reporters Wednesday.
Aides cited research that suggests 1 in 3 women under the age of 35 report experiencing sexual harassment online, while more than half of LGBT people become the target of severe abuse. They pointed to a study from the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center within the Department of Homeland Security that, they say, demonstrates a similar link “between online misogyny and domestic terrorism” as well.
The officials took care to underscore that the task force would not single out particular online platforms, only that it is interested in the role of social media “more generally.”
“Many technology companies have expressed a commitment to improving user safety and addressing abuse,” one said. “So we will be looking for opportunities to engage with industry experts and leaders who share that commitment.”
Staffers were “very mindful of the First Amendment issues,” too, after DHS’s Disinformation Governance Board was disbanded last month following free speech concerns.
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“Violent and threatening speech is not protected by the First Amendment,” an aide added. “So while we are going to carefully navigate those issues, we’re also going to remain laser focused on the nonspeech aspects.”
