He knew how to dribble and score.
He also knows how to tackle online.
After leaving social networks last March to denounce their toxicity, ex-footballer Thierry Henry announced on Tuesday in Lisbon that he would continue his commitment against online harassment alongside a sports equipment manufacturer and a NGO.
“We need help from people in high places (…).
We have to come together to make sure that these people will, for example, pass a law and make these platforms more responsible for what happens there, ”declared the former glory of Arsenal and the France team.
The 1998 world champion announced in the Portuguese capital his partnership with the Puma brand and the
Game of Our Lives
foundation
on the occasion of the Web Summit, an annual high mass for the digital economy and new technologies.
Since he deactivated his social media accounts last March, Thierry Henry explained that he did not feel the lack of it and that he was not ready to return to it.
“They are not doing enough.
They are not really trying to change anything, ”said the 44-year-old former striker, currently assistant coach of the Belgian team, at a press conference.
The Web Summit opened on Monday evening, with a much-anticipated intervention from whistleblower and former Facebook employee Frances Haugen, who accused the American company of putting profits above the well-being of its users.
During a weekend in late April, several sportsmen and clubs, mainly English, launched a movement to boycott social networks in order to protest against online abuse, including racism.
Alongside Thierry Henry on the main stage of the Web Summit, Puma Marketing Director Adam Petrick, however, explained that he was not considering this type of action.
“The platforms must be our partners in order to lead a substantive discussion with a view to concrete actions.
Some of them are making progress, (…) but not all and not enough, ”he explained.