UK children to become safer online as world-leading bill becomes law
The Online Safety Act has received Royal Assent meaning UK adults and children should become safer online.
Yesterday, a new era of internet safety was hailed as the Online Safety Act received Royal Assent. This means new legal duties will be placed on social media platforms to ensure children and adults remain safe on social media.
The new law takes a zero-tolerance approach – it is asking tech companies to remove illegal content, like terrorism and revenge pornography. Organisations will also have a duty to stop children seeing material that is harmful to them such as bullying, content promoting self-harm and eating disorders, and pornography.
Although the Bill was heavily debated in the House of Lords and the House of Commons, it has been accepted with open arms. Recent research has found that harmful online content can be detrimental to children’s mental health.
Children’s charity, the NSPCC have previously said the law would mean a safer online world.
If companies fail to comply with the new rules, they will face significant fines that could reach billions of pounds, and if they don’t take steps required by Ofcom to protect children, some bosses could even be sentenced to time in prison.
Speaking on the new rule being passed, technology secretary, Michelle Donelan, said it will ‘go down as an historic moment that ensures the online safety of British society not only now, but for decades to come.’
She added: ‘I am immensely proud of the work that has gone into the Online Safety Act from its very inception to it becoming law today. The Bill protects free speech, empowers adults, and will ensure that platforms remove illegal content.’
As well as prioritising children’s safety online, the new law also works to help adults control what they see online. It provides three layers of protection for internet uses.
These include:
- Make sure illegal content is removed
- Enforce the promises social media platforms make to users when they sign up, through terms and conditions
- Offer users the option to filter out content, such as online abuse, that they do not what to see
Should organisations fail to implement these conditions, Ofcom could fine them up to £18m or 10% of their global annual revenue – whichever works out to be the biggest sum.
Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom Chief Executive, said: ‘These new laws give Ofcom the power to start making a difference in creating a safer life online for children and adults in the UK. We’ve already trained and hired expert teams with experience across the online sector, and today we’re setting out a clear timeline for holding tech firms to account.’
In anticipation of the Bill coming into effect, some social media platforms took precaution. TikTok has implemented a stronger age verification and Snapchat has begun removing the accounts of underage users.
Now that the Bill has been passed and will become law, Ofcom will immediately begin tackling illegal content, with a consultation process due to launch on 9th November.
Image: Swello