UK Online Safety law threatens Big Tech bosses with jail
- Reference: 1674030615
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/01/18/social_media_uk_online_safety/
- Source link:
Under the proposed rules, technology executives could be held criminally liable for violating statutes in the bill, including failing to remove illegal content or censor posts relating to cyberbullying, self-harm or suicide, for all users under 18 years old.
Michelle Donelan, the UK's Culture Secretary, has [1]reportedly accepted these changes, which were advocated by a group of Conservative Party rebel MPs led by Miriam Cates, representing Penistone and Stocksbridge, and Sir Bill Cash standing for Stone in Staffordshire.
[2]
The Conservative Party has [3]squabbled over the UK Online Safety Bill for months, causing delays to passage of amendments. Government MPs want social media companies and web giants, like TikTok, Meta, Twitter, and Google, to bolster safety protocols prohibiting online harassment, stalking, revenge pornography, fraud, the sale of illegal drugs and weapons without [4]limiting free speech.
[5]UK lawmakers look to enforce blocking tools for legal but harmful content
[6]UK's Online Safety Bill drops rules forcing social media to remove 'legal but harmful' content
[7]Scanning phones to detect child abuse evidence is harmful, 'magical' thinking
[8]California lawmakers approve online privacy law for kids. Which may turn websites into identity checkpoints
A previous version of the bill called for jail time only if officials refused to cooperate with information requests from UK communications regulator Ofcom. Lawmakers have now successfully proposed amendments that would see tech executives face up to two years in jail for consistently failing to comply with the bill's rules.
The social media industry lobby group TechUK has previously warned the UK government that the threat of criminal prosecutions could deter investment and drive companies to leave the country.
[9]
"The government has clearly accepted the argument that the strictest sanctions need to apply for harming children," Cates said in a reported statement. "This is a good outcome. We are going to have the scope to address all the harms for children. That is very positive."
Meanwhile Cash noted that a similar bill is currently being considered by lawmakers in Ireland. "There will be prison for those senior managers who fail to comply with enforcement requirements. I have been speaking to Irish lawyers and they say it is really effective and that is where we are," he added. ®
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[1] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/01/16/rishi-sunak-forced-back-online-safety-bill-tory-rebellion/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y8fRVpl--YbzzXzCdQra7gAAAIk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/15/online_safety_bill_delayed/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/30/uk_online_safety_bill/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/09/uk_law_makers_to_enforce/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/30/uk_online_safety_bill/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/13/clientside_scanning_csam_anderson/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/30/california_child_protection_law/
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y8fRVpl--YbzzXzCdQra7gAAAIk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Boo hoo
" the threat of criminal prosecutions could deter investment and drive companies to leave the country "
Go run while you can. Sooner or later, every decent country will have such rules, at which point you'll be forced to be hosted in some island haven that will be blocked, so good luck serving your wares to the few who live on the same island.
I am sick of seeing major companies get barely a slap on the wrist when they don't respect the rules, then threaten to up and leave when the rules get tightened.
Go host yourselves in China. Ask [1]Ma what he thinks about that.
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2021/01/05/jack_ma_missing/
Re: Boo hoo
It's more about stopping Steve down the road from opening an online forum where he could expose wrongdoings of the government.
Re: Boo hoo
Much what I was going to say. There's almost no chance of it being used against Facebook. But something like Extinction Rebellion or Wikileaks? Definitely going to happen, even if the cases fall through they'll just hope it'll shut the sites down.
A Start
I like the idea of execs facing time as a result of their decisions (A Company, although a legal entity, doesn't make decisions; it's the execs of the company that do). Now could we maybe extend that to all of the other illegal things they keep doing without any comeback? Maybe GDPR should be extended to make execs personally liable for any company failings...
Re: A Start
There is a difference between commercial misjudgement and cynically causing harm to young people. The limited liability company protects directors against the worst outcome from the first, but there should be no protection from the second.
Well
It's not like the parents could do anything about it, eh?
Are they still using "harmful but legal" content as a measure
because if so I suggest the most harmful content is in the Express, the Mail and the Telegraph.
Small bosses
No, big bosses will avoid jail with use of brown envelopes.
It's about preventing people from starting independent social networks.
The goal is only to have a few big players on the market that government can easily control and threat everyone else with jail.
WEF says that "misinformation" is the biggest threat to the society (they mean themselves), so this is part of the effort to keep flow of information under control.
This will require age verification of all their users, so an excuse to switch to a subscription service ("the guvmint made us do it").
rebels ... representing Penistone and Stocksbridge
Or, if the bill passes, rebels representing *****tone and Stocksbridge.
Thoughts and prayers for the MP for Scunthorpe.
And it will make it even trickier for some men to find the MP for Clitheroe, in the definitely-not-a-euphemism Ribble Valley.