British athletes given AI app as shield from online abuse

Top British athletes are receiving new artificial intelligence-based protection from online abuse.

A contract worth more than £300,000 has been signed by UK Sport, the organization that finances the Olympic and Paralympic sports, giving thousands of athletes access to an app that tracks and hides abusive posts made by other users on social media.

The entire Games cycle, up to Los Angeles 2028, athletes can sign up for free accounts and keep their accounts safe.

The app, called Social Security, uses AI to try to prevent athletes from receiving as few abusive messages as possible.

It searches for over two million abusive words and phrases in its database, which automatically searches for incoming social media posts on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.

Athletes can also add any words or phrases of their own that they find upsetting in their own comments or replies, which will automatically hide the terms from the comments section or replies.

Shane Britten, the founder of the business, makes the app akin to background anti-virus software that is invisible.

“The goal is to keep the comment section free of racism, hatred, scams, and other abhorrent things that can happen on social media,” he said.

However, the software is imperfect. In the contract that UK Sport has paid for, social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, is excluded from the agreement. According to a BBC Sport investigation, 82% of abuse is directed at football managers and players.

The agreement also stipulates that the system can only monitor posts made informally; however, abusive direct messages to athletes will still be visible.

Since the development of social media in the middle of the 2000s, athletes have been subject to abuse in all sports.

Kirsty Gilmour, a three-time Olympiade, has endured rape and death threats throughout her career, frequently from those who bet on her matches.

Gilmour, who has frequently feared for her safety and even worked with the FBI on a previous investigation into abusive social media posts against her, is comforted by the offer of new protection.

Around my tiny piece of the internet, the 32-year-old said, “It feels empowering and like a real force field.”

They say things like “I know where you live” or “I know where you’ll be.” And that’s a little frightful if I’m in Asia or someplace that’s a little foreign to me. You are made known.

The more difficult ones are the ones that pursue my career: “you’re terrible at your job,” “you should quit,” and “you should retire,” but the rape and death threats are not good.

They may not be swearing, but they hurt, they say. I can hide words that might seem harmless from sight and that I want to avoid using the app.

According to UK Sport, the prevalence of social media abuse in contemporary sport has prompted them to provide their athletes with more support both during and after the Games.

The conclusion of this deal by UK Sport is an example of how sports organizations are acting independently in response to what it perceives as social media company apathy.

The app’s shielding service will also be accessible to UK Sport’s coaches, employees, and family members, as well as to its sponsors’ significant domestic competitions.

This agreement “is at the heart of our commitment to ensure athletes receive the support they need to be their best self both on and off the field of play,” Baker continued.