Local MP, Justin Tomlinson has welcomed the debate around the Government’s Online Safety Bill as bringing the issue of safety across the internet into the ‘centre of the discussion’.
Thursday marked the introduction of the new Bill into the House of Commons. The Bill marks somewhat of a milestone in the government’s stated aim, which is to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online. The outcome of the bill’s introduction is likely to be wide-spreading and address longstanding concerns ranging from online bullying and abuse, to tackling disinformation on social media platforms and across the wider internet.
The Government has stated its primary motivations for the Bill were to:
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Tackle criminal activity - There will be no safe space for criminal content online. If content is illegal offline, it is illegal online. Platforms will have to remove terrorist material or child sexual abuse and exploitation quickly, and will not be allowed to promote it in their algorithms.
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Protect children - The strongest protections in our new laws are for children and young people. They will be protected from harmful or inappropriate content such as grooming, bullying, pornography and the promotion of self-harm and eating disorders.
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Address content that is harmful to adults - The largest companies with the widest reach, including the most popular social media platforms (Category 1 services), will need to set out clearly what harmful content accessed by adults is allowed on their sites, and enforce their terms of service consistently.
North Swindon MP, Justin Tomlinson said:
“I’m pleased to welcome this landmark Bill into Parliament, as it is an important landmark for putting the important topic of safety on the agenda. This Bill also safeguards freedom of speech, by ensuring social media sites cannot simply remove content for arbitrary reasons, it also leaves a clear provision to protect rights around political discussions and journalism.”
