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Online Safety Act overview:
- Who: Britain’s Online Safety Act, which puts the onus of creating a safe online environment for children on social media platforms, became law.
- Why: The United Kingdom wants the online platforms to be a safe place for children and plan to fine companies up to billions of pounds if they do not actively and swiftly remove harmful content from their platforms.
- Where: The new rules apply in the United Kingdom.
Britain’s Online Safety Act, which puts the onus of creating a safe online environment for children on social media platforms, has become law.
The rules require online platforms to be a safe place for children and plan to fine companies up to billions of pounds if they do not actively and swiftly remove harmful content from their platforms, the UK said in a press release.
“Today will go down as an historic moment that ensures the online safety of British society not only now, but for decades to come,” Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said. “… The bill protects free speech, empowers adults and will ensure that platforms remove illegal content. At the heart of this bill, however, is the protection of children.”
Donelon said that the Online Safety Act will ensure the UK is “the safest place to be online in the world.”
Social media companies must follow 200 clauses to remove harmful online content
The online safety law covers 200 different clauses that social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and TikTok will be required to actively address, Wired reported.
The outlawed content includes pornography, content promoting or encouraging suicide or self harm, eating disorders, bullying or encouraging serious violence.
The online safety law also will require companies to be transparent about the dangers to children on their websites, the UK said.
“The Online Safety Act’s strongest protections are for children,” UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman said. “Social media companies will be held to account for the appalling scale of child sexual abuse occurring on their platforms and our children will be safer. We are determined to combat the evil of child sexual exploitation wherever it is found, and this act is a big step forward.”
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said earlier this year that it will review a complaint accusing YouTube of violating European privacy laws by allegedly harvesting the viewing habits of as many as 5 million children in the UK.
Do you believe social media companies should be responsible for dangerous or violent content on their platforms? Let us know in the comments.
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