Net safety plan ‘risks freedom’
PLANS to protect people online are not only “unworkable” but pose a threat to freedom of speech, a top think tank fears.
The Government’s Online Harms White Paper was published amid concerns about cyberbullying, the distribution of child abuse images, terrorist groups radicalising vulnerable people and the use of social media to promote gang violence.
There are also fears children are exposed to harmful content relating to self-harm or suicide.
The plans proposed placing a new statutory duty of care on companies to be overseen and enforced by an independent regulator, likely to be Ofcom.
But, a report from the think tank Centre for Policy Studies argues a better approach would be to beef up resources for the police to enforce laws tackling child sexual abuse and terrorist content. It wants any decisions on restricting free speech online to be made by Parliament not an unelected regulator.
The report states: “For content that is presently legal, Parliament should decide whether it is sufficiently harmful that the state should suppress it.
“This is a matter for lawmakers to specify by giving it criminal status, not for Ofcom to work out later.
“If the Government is not prepared to criminalise certain speech, then it should not punish social media companies for giving it a platform – if something is legal to say, it should be legal to type.”
The think tank argues a better approach is to ensure more resources “go to the police to seek out those abusing children rather than to bureaucrats in an already bloated regulator”.
It has published its own proposals to guard against “creeping censorship” and ensure there is full democratic oversight.
The report, Safety Without Censorship, fears a regulator could become manipulated: “A regulator that seeks to impinge on speech which may be deemed ‘offensive’ could end up being used as a tool of censorship by vested interests.”
The report also warns that putting new requirements on technology companies could make it harder for start-ups to compete with the internet giants which already dominate so much of the online economy.
It states: “Employing human moderators comes at a huge cost. For smaller companies looking to scale up it is a huge barrier to their expansion.”
However, the Government said fewer than five per cent of UK businesses would come under the new regulatory framework.
It said: “We have set out plans for proportionate regulation which prioritises the protection of children while safeguarding people’s rights and ensuring we maintain a free, open internet.”
‘Guard against censorship’