The upcoming Online Safety Bill hands “unprecedented censorship powers” to the secretary of state and Ofcom, warned new research backed by a trio of top-level former frontbenchers. A new briefing paper by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) warns that the Online Safety Bill will have a significant impact on free speech, privacy, and innovation,…
Former Ministers Warn UK Internet Bill Gives State Unprecedented Censorship Powers
Conservative MP Won’t Support Adding ‘Health Misinformation’ to the Online Safety Bill
British politicians on the Committee debating the UK government’s proposed Online Safety Bill tried to add an amendment to include “health-related misinformation and disinformation” as a recognised form of lawful but “harmful” speech. On June 14, Conservative Minister Chris Philp said that the government would not support the amendment, though it agrees “with the intention behind the…
Elon Musk Invited to Give Evidence to UK Parliament on Twitter Takeover
Elon Musk has been invited to give evidence to a UK parliamentary committee about his takeover of social media platform Twitter. Julian Knight, a Conservative MP who chairs the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) Committee, has written to the Tesla and SpaceX boss inviting him to “discuss the future of Twitter” in the British…
UK Online Safety Bill Could ‘Drive More People Into The Dark Web’
Critics of Britain’s new Online Safety Bill say they fear it will erode freedom of speech and could push more people into seeking alternatives on the dark web. The Bill—which was last week given an unopposed second reading by British MPs—would force Google, Twitter, Meta (formerly Facebook), and others, to abide by a code of conduct, overseen…
UK’s Controversial Online Safety Bill Reaches Parliament
The UK government’s updated bill on regulating online spaces was introduced in Parliament on Thursday, set to be the first major set of regulations for the Internet anywhere in the world. Social media platforms are expected to be forced to remove content that is deemed harmful in the ambitious Online Safety Bill, as well as protect…
UK Widens Scope of Online Safety Bill to Include New Offences
More criminal offences have been added to the UK’s Online Safety Bill to force social media firms to quickly eliminate the “most harmful illegal content and criminal activity,” the government announced on Saturday. Offences including revenge porn, hate crime, fraud, the sale of illegal drugs or weapons, the promotion or facilitation of suicide, people smuggling, and sexual…
Instagram Fuels 70 Percent Rise in Online Grooming of Children: UK Charity
Instagram was the most commonly used app by offenders for sexual communication with a child in the past year, a UK children’s charity has revealed. Online grooming crimes recorded by UK police have jumped by nearly 70 percent since 2018, new figures from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) show….
Johnson Vows To Fine Social Media Companies Failing To Remove ‘Hate and Racism’
Social media companies have been told they will have to remove “hateful” or “racist” content from their platforms or face hefty fines, the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday. The prime minister met with representatives from social media companies on Tuesday after online racial abuse towards black England football players sparked outrage. “Last night…
UK’s New Internet Bill Criticised by Civil Liberties Groups
The UK government on Wednesday published the draft of a new “landmark” internet bill to regulate online space. The ambitious new bill (pdf), which is expected to be brought before Parliament in the coming months, is set to be the first major set of regulations for the internet anywhere in the world. It aims to…
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