In the wake of Twitter and Ask.fm abuse cases, David Cameron has said that regular web joes should boycott sites that 'allow' online bullying.
Speaking to the BBC, he used a lot of words to say not very much, Cameron made it clear that he (and therefore the government) puts the onus on social networking sites to clamp down on abusive posts.
"It's not the case that there's nothing we can do just because it's online," he said, going on to outline "some steps to be taken" that all amount to the same sort of thing.
Step up to the plate
"First of all, the people that run these websites have got to step up to the plate, clean up their act and show some responsibility.
"It's not acceptable what's allowed to happen on these sites. It's their responsibility, and those posting hateful remarks, first and foremost."
He went on to remind the world at large that things that are illegal "IRL" are also illegal online:
"Just because something is done online doesn't' mean that it's legal. If you incite hatred, if you incite violence, that's a crime whether you do it in a television studio, on a soapbox or online and so these people can be chased.
"If websites don't clean up their act and don't sort themselves out then we as members of the general public have got to stop using these particular sites and boycott them."
Some people have already managed a day of "Twitter silence" to protest the site's seemingly laissez-faire attitude to abuse and threats, despite the fact that it had already said it was introducing rules and a 'Report Abuse' button.
As our Gary Marshall pointed out yesterday, "This isn't a technological problem. It's a cultural one."
