Facebook plans to create 1,000 UK jobs in a bid to crackdown on toxic content on the social media network’s platform.

More than half the new roles will be tech focused in areas including software engineering, product design, data science and the development of its Workplace and WhatsApp platforms.

The company will also recruit talent into its community integrity team, which creates the tools and tech the network uses to detect and remove toxic user content such as child abuse and terrorist propaganda.

Facebook’s COO, Sheryl Sandberg, is set to announce the new jobs later today in London, where the company is constructing a new office across two buildings.

Sandberg said: “The UK is a world leader in both innovation and creativity. That’s why I’m excited that we plan to hire an additional 1,000 people in London this year alone.

“London is home to Facebook’s biggest engineering hub outside the US and we’re committed to investing here for the long-term.”

The tech giant is also looking to expand its London-based artificial intelligence, augmented/virtual reality and engineering infrastructure teams.

The move comes amid calls for social media companies to take action to better monitor their platforms for harmful content.

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Facebook, in particular, has come under pressure to create a new regulator that could more stringently police the type of content that is being shared on its network.

Facebook-owned Instagram has come under heavy media scrutiny following the death of a UK teenager, Molly Russell, who committed suicide after viewing graphic images of self-harm on the image sharing platform.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who welcomed the new Facebook jobs, said: “It’s great news Facebook plans to create a thousand more jobs in London – yet another sign of the strength of our dynamic tech sector.

“The UK is successfully creating both homegrown firms at the forefront of cutting-age technologies, such as artificial intelligence, while attracting established global tech giants like Facebook. We’re committed to making the UK the safest place in the world to be online, alongside being one of the best places for technology companies to be based.”

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