A former Love Island contestant has backed calls for social media regulation after claiming he was 'treated like a murderer' following his brief appearance on the show. Ollie Williams, from Cornwall, faced a torrent of abuse after photos allegedly showing him trophy hunting emerged, which he denies.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Williams said he was assigned a security detail upon landing at Heathrow after leaving the villa in January. 'I felt like the most hated person in Britain... I never in a million years thought it would be this bad,' he said. He went into hiding for 10 days after people camped outside his family home.
Mr Williams, who spent less than three days on the show, said his sister received death threats on social media. 'The worst thing you can do is try to battle them [on social media], but it's hard not to let it affect you,' he said. 'It's no good just blocking and reporting, that doesn't work - currently regulation is non-existent.'
The government is giving Ofcom powers to force social media firms to act. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said appointing a communications watchdog was part of its 'plans to protect children and vulnerable people online'.
Mr Williams echoed the words of former Love Island presenter Caroline Flack, who died earlier this year: 'We just need to be a bit kinder to each other.' He added, 'Goodness knows what would have happened' had he not been so 'thick-skinned'.
