UK bans ‘legitimate but harmful’ online content for freedom of expression

Online Safety Act Eliminates ‘Legal But Harmful’ Elements Social Media Companies Should Strengthen Age VerificationFailure to handle illegal content could result in fines for companies

LONDON, Nov. 29 (Reuters) – The UK government is forcing tech giants to remove “legitimate but harmful” content from their platforms after activists and lawmakers raised concerns that the measures could curtail freedom of expression. The government said it wouldn’t.

Instead, it added, the online safety law would focus on protecting children and ensuring companies remove illegal or prohibited content from their terms of service, and would not specify which legitimate content should be censored.

Like the European Union and other countries, the UK is struggling to protect social media users, particularly children, from harmful content without compromising freedom of speech.

Digital Secretary Michelle Donelan said it strengthened child protection by forcing companies to enforce age limits they had already set, rather than relaxing the legislation.

She told BBC Radio: “A company can’t just say, ‘Yes, we only allow children over the age of 13 to join our platform. ‘ Then they allow children as young as 10 and actively promote it.” We are preventing that from happening.”

She said companies could face fines of up to 10 per cent of their revenues if they do not have systems in place to restrict access by minors.

The UK has previously said social media companies could be fined if they fail to root out harmful content, such as abuse, even if they fall below criminal standards, and senior managers could face criminal action.

Donelan said the “harmful but legal” provisions that some lawmakers opposed and delayed progress would have had “unintended consequences” and eroded free speech.

The government said removing it would also avoid the risk of platforms removing legitimate posts to avoid sanctions.

The new iteration goes further to protect freedom of expression by suspending companies like Facebook owner Meta and Twitter, removing their content, or suspending or banning users if they don’t violate their terms of service or the law.

free pass

The opposition Labor Party said replacing “damage prevention” with an emphasis on freedom of expression undermines the bill’s purpose.

Lucy Powell, the Labor Party’s cultural spokesperson, said: “Removing the phrase ‘legitimate but harmful’ would give abusers free passage and public rides.” “Governments have given in to vested interests to keep users and consumers safe.”

But the government said the bill, which is going back to Congress next month, would make tech companies responsible for removing material that is illegal or violates terms of service.

If users are likely to encounter controversial content such as glorification of eating disorders, racism, anti-Semitism or misogyny that doesn’t meet criminal criteria, it said platforms should provide tools to help prevent this.

Donelan said that certain types of harmful material can also be outlawed, so if social media companies don’t act on it, they will face heavy fines.

“We all agree that it should be illegal,” she told BBC News, adding that the government had already promised to outlaw the promotion of self-harm.

($1 = 0.8317 pounds)

Report by Paul Sandle; Edited by Alex Richardson

Our Standard: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principle.

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