The UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology recently disclosed that the much-debated Online Safety Bill has gained Parliament approval. This pioneering law, intended primarily to safeguard children online and enhance adult control, is now en route to enforcement by Ofcom. The critics, however, view this as an encroachment on privacy.
The crux of the bill emphasizes that swift action by social media platforms is essential in preventing and removing illegal content that could harm children, such as cyberbullying. Failure to comply could result in heavy fines, potentially amounting to billions of pounds, and in extreme scenarios, corporate leaders could face imprisonment.
To secure child safety online, social media platforms are mandated to deliver some key services. These include swift elimination of, or robust preventive measures against illegal content promoting self-harm, stringent control ensuring children do not access harmful and age-inappropriate content, and strict implementation of age limits and age-verification methods. Additionally, firms must ensure the online threats posed to children are transparent, and provide easy and clear channels for both parents and children to report online issues as they occur.
This legislation, however, reaches beyond child protection, stipulating three layers of adult protection. These comprise effective removal of illegal content, a binding responsibility on platforms to honor their user agreements, and options for users to filter out objectionable content like cyberbullying.
The law also lays out a clear path to tackle online fraud and violence against women and girls more decisively. This would enhance the ease of convicting someone who shares intimate imagery without consent, and new laws would criminalize non-consensual sharing of intimate deepfake photos or videos. In terms of fraud, social media firms have the task of shielding users from perilous fraudulent advertising by blocking and removing scams. Failure to do so would result in hefty penalties administered by Ofcom.
In a bold move, social media companies will also have to stem activities promoting animal cruelty and torture. Even if such activities occur outside the UK, but can be viewed by users within the UK, businesses will be obligated to withdraw it.
Reiterating the importance of this legislation, Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan stated, “The Online Safety Bill is a game-changing piece of legislation. Today, this government is taking an enormous step forward in our mission to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online.”
Optimistic about the new changes, Ofcom Chief Executive, Dame Melanie Dawes, shared, “Today is a major milestone in the mission to create a safer life online for children and adults in the UK. Everyone at Ofcom feels privileged to be entrusted with this important role, and we’re ready to start implementing these new laws.”
Despite its grand ambitions, there are critics who voice concerns about potential risks. The ambiguity inherent in some phrases can invite confusion and misinterpretation – not desirable when steep penalties are at stake. Words like ‘harmful’, which can carry different meanings for different people, is used frequently, raising questions of interpretation and enforcement.
Moreover, critics worry about implications for freedom of speech, the consequences of creating encryption backdoors, and the potential stripping away of anonymized platform usage. An overarching question prevails – who is to decide what is harmful? In the UK, that responsibility now lies with Ofcom.
