Concern at plans for online child protection

New laws aimed at protecting youngsters online have come under fire by safety campaigners.

Onlinesafetygroup,5Rights Foundation, says The Government'sproposedOnlineSafety Bill is being "undermined" by loopholes and does not place children'srightsfrontandcentre–byattemptedto"minimise the regulatory burden on tech companies".

TheBillisduebeforeParliament this year and is expected to set out a duty of care for tech companies, with large financial penalties for those found to be in breach.

5Rights Foundation says that, while it welcomes the Bill, it contains too many exemptions and loopholes, ignores significant harm to children and only covers three per cent of all companies.

It says the Bill's scope is too narrowandshouldfocusonall digitaltechnologythatimpacts children–notjustservicesthat host user-generated content or interaction between users.

5Rights Foundation chairwoman Baroness Beeban Kidron said: "An Online Safety Bill worthy of its name must keep children safe wherever they are – however big or small the company, whatever the nature of the product and whatever environment they use it in.

"There is a worrying lack of clarity about the status of the proposed measures, with a complex set of duties, codes andprovisionsthatmayormay not have the full force of law."

A Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport spokeswoman said: "Our world-leading tough Bill will set a global standard for safety online.

"There will be no loopholes and they will face tough sanctions including multi-billion pound fines if they do not step up."