Tech giants say UK online safety laws are non-negotiable | Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Britain's new laws to boost safety and tackle online hate speech are not up for negotiation, a senior government official said, after Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg pledged with Donald Trump to put pressure on countries seen as censors of content. The Minister warned:

Skills Secretary Peter Kyle told the Observer that recent laws designed to make online platforms safer for children and vulnerable people would in no way dilute the government's ability to attract big tech companies to the UK in the pursuit of justice. economic growth.

His comments come as Keir Starmer prepares for a massive technology charm blitz this week that will promote the UK as a prime location for developing artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

But the prime minister will do so as his government faces sustained and fierce attacks from Elon Musk, one of Silicon Valley's most prominent figures and a major Trump supporter.

Skills Secretary Peter Kyle has been tasked with putting the UK at the forefront of the AI ​​revolution. Photo: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

Zuckerberg also said in a wide-ranging statement last week that he was ditching politically biased fact-checking programs and reducing restrictions on topics like immigration and gender on Metas platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Threads.

He added that he will work with President Trump to defeat governments around the world going after American companies and pushing for more censorship.

Zuckerberg did not single out the UK, which passed online safety laws last year, but said there was a growing number of laws in Europe institutionalizing censorship.

Kyle, who is preparing to unveil the government's AI strategy with Starmer this week, said Zuckerberg was struggling with the same freedom of expression issues he would have to consider as an MP.

But Kyle said he would not support rolling back Britain's new online safety laws.

The standards of these laws allow for a very high level of responsible freedom of expression, he said. But I just want to tell you this basic point. Access to British society and economy is a privilege, not a right. And none of our basic protections for children and vulnerable people are up for negotiation.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been critical of Europe's policies on online censorship. Photo: David Zalubowski/AP

I was talking to these companies in California in December. I was there in November. None of this has been challenged. There is a lot of interest in the direction of our travel. I think there is a great deal of suspicion about some countries around the world and the way they behave.

But I think we've not only led the world in online safety, but we've done it in a sensitive and innovative way.

Online safety laws will eventually require large social media platforms to remove illegal content, including hate speech, enforce their own content rules and provide a means for users to block certain types of harmful content if they wish.

The news comes as the father of teenager Molly Russell, who took her own life in 2017 after seeing harmful content online, warned this weekend that the rules were not strict enough.

Following last summer's riots sparked by online misinformation, Kyle asked Ofcom to look into how illegal content, particularly misinformation, spreads during the disruption and whether further action is needed. He said his judgment on the matter would not be swayed by the demands of the tech giants.

The safety of people across the UK is non-negotiable, he said. But also, investing in a country where its citizens feel safe and secure is a better option than investing in a country where they don't. People vote directly on these issues, and platforms where people don't feel safe tend not to do so as much as others.

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The launch of the government's AI action plan this week will encourage technology investment in the UK by suggesting the country is less regulated than the EU and well placed to attract development. Kyle is also toning down the previous administration's excessive focus on AI safety issues.

The launch of the action plan coincides with big tech leaders moving closer to Trump as his inauguration approaches. Meta is replacing fact-checking with a community notes-style system similar to the one used by Musk-owned X.

Musk explicitly criticized the Labor government and amplified far-right criticism of Starmer. The tech stocks' attack began in earnest last summer when they accused the government of turning Britain into a police state over its response to riots.

There has been growing anger within the Labor Party over Musk's recent foray into British politics, in which he made harsh claims about Safeguarding Secretary Jess Phillips. She said the comments made her even more concerned for her safety.

Musk was also angry at the government for rejecting his calls for a national investigation into grooming gangs.

Starmer said his government was open to holding one in the future, but insisted enacting the recommendations of the 2022 independent report into child sexual abuse should be a priority.

But in a sign that Labor is seeking to avoid escalating tensions with Musk, Kyle said he was happy to talk to the billionaire but said it was only part of his determination to deliver the benefits of new technology to the UK.

“I'm very focused on getting our country to a point where we're fully leveraging all the technologies that exist, so we can move to a position where we're creating more and innovating more,” he said. Nothing will stop me from that mission.

I am open to talking to any innovator or potential investor, but on those terms. I'm not interested in the rest. I need you to challenge me, except to give you a tip on the kind of content that is starting to emerge around Jess.

But I have a very high bar for this. My priority is to focus 100% on what will put food on the tables of Britons now and in the future.

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