English football teams and organizations are all shutting down their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts for the weekend as part of a massive social media blackout to advocate for better policies regarding discrimination and abuse that players and members of clubs receive on those platforms.
Groups participating in the blackout include the Premier League, the English Football League, the Professional Footballers’ Association, the Football Association, the League Managers Association, the Football Supporters’ Association, and more. Clubs that are part of the Premier League, EFL, Barclays FA Women’s Super League, and Women’s Championship will all be shutting down their social channels over the weekend as part of the protest.
The blackout comes after the various English soccer organizations banded together in February to request changes from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in an open letter requesting that the companies take stronger action against discriminatory and racist comments.
The leagues hope this weekend’s boycott will build on that movement, noting that while progress has been made, players, teams, and other members of the English football world still feel that there’s a lot more that Facebook and Twitter could do to help stop internet abuse.
