WASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday inaugurated a task force to tackle online harassment, fulfilling one of the Biden campaign’s promises following a mass shooting that highlights a link between online abuse and violence.

The group is tasked with producing within six months a detailed plan of actions to address the issue, including more victim support, prevention and greater accountability for abusers and the platforms that host them.

“It affects all of us if it affects any of us,” Harris said at the task force launch. “So we, all of us, have a responsibility to stick together, to support those who have been through this, but also to recognize that they shouldn’t be fighting this issue alone.”

The group is co-chaired by the White House Gender Policy Council and the National Security Council, according to senior administration officials who made the announcement during a call Wednesday night.

The creation of the task force comes in the wake of a mass shooting in Texas, where the shooter allegedly posted violent content online before going on a rampage.

According to reports from CNN, The Washington Post and others, Salvador Ramos, who shot dead 19 children and two adults at an elementary school in Uvalde, threatened to rape girls and shoot schools on the app. Yubo social media before the attack.

“It’s imperative that we commit to better understanding and addressing the link between online misogyny and radicalization leading to violence,” a senior administration official said, previewing the announcement during a press conference. a call Wednesday night.

According to the White House, one in three women under the age of 35 and more than half of LGBT people in the United States say they have experienced sexual harassment and harassment online.

Harris was joined Thursday by Attorney General Merrick Garland, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and tennis star Sloane Stephens, who went public with a torrent of angry messages she received on social media, including racist abuse. and sexist, after his defeat at the US Open.

Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Editing by William Mallard and Mark Porter

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