Firms including Facebook, Google, and Twitter have written a letter to the British government calling for a clear differentiation between illegal and harmful content. The letter was co-ordinated by the trade body Internet Association and has been sent to the culture, health, and home secretaries. The letter comes after the government demanding social networks and Internet service providers (ISP) to remove abusive, humiliating or intimidating content in 2017. In addition, a white paper on online harms is expected to be published in the fortnight.According to the BBC, the companies outlined six principles that regulation must follow: (a) 'be targeted at specific harms, using a risk-based approach'; (b) 'provide flexibility to adapt to changing technologies, different services and evolving societal expectations'; (c) 'maintain the internet liability protections that enable the internet to deliver significant benefits for consumers, society and the economy'; (d) 'be technically possible to implement in practice'; (e) 'provide clarity and certainty for consumers, citizens and internet companies"; 6. "recognize the distinction between public and private communication'.