There’s no excuse for not regulating the internet

Ministers heavy on the rhetoric but light on detail when it comes to White Paper on web safety

‘For over a year now, Westminster has been promising action but so far nothing has moved’

ADAM MOSSERI, the head of Instagram, says he supports the “concept” of social media companies being made subject to a legal duty of care.

The only real question now is whether ministers have the will to draft the necessary legislation and get it on the statute book – a move that The Daily Telegraph has been campaigning on for approaching a year.

It is only when legislation is enacted that platforms like Instagram and Facebook will – quite literally – start to clean up their act, systematically stripping their platforms of the illegal and offensive content that is causing so much division and harm. Since this newspaper’s campaign launched in June, it has been backed by the Children’s commissioner, the relevant parliamentary select committees and by most of the major charities in the area.

The Church of England has called for children to be protected. Intelligence experts have demanded that content that inspires terrorism be taken down.

Parents have demanded that child grooming sites and self harm content be banned. And now even the companies themselves are saying they support legislative change.

Yet the Government remains tight lipped – at least on the detail.

A White Paper, we are promised, is being prepared, but ministers continue to slip and skid around the subject of what exactly it contains. We get only rhetoric.

A “duty of care” is an effective form of regulation that has a long and proud history in the UK – and one which will stand the test of time. Crucially, it seeks not to instruct companies how to behave but defines a series of harms (bullying, suicide, terrorism, etc) that they must avoid causing.

How exactly they do that is down to them – a process that will not just protect consumers but boost corporate innovation and value.

Earlier this year, Germany passed a law requiring social media companies to remove illegal content within 24 hours of it being flagged or face swingeing fines.

The companies initially lobbied hard to block the legislation. They said what was being requested of them was impossible.

And even if it wasn’t, such a heavy -handed approach might cause them to reconsider their investments in the country.

But it has played out rather differently. The law was introduced and the vast bulk of the offending content was removed virtually overnight.

And far from fleeing Germany, the tech companies have stayed, doubling down on their investments there. There is a lesson here for our own politicians. Big corporates bark loudly but ultimately they like politicians with cojones.

It provides certainly, and with certainty business can plan and map out the future with confidence.

The internet has of course been a force for good – from helping to bring democracy to nations and rejuvenating stagnant economies – but the time for its regulation has come and Britain can lead in that.

There is a saying in the tech world that “delivery is everything”.

It is a phrase that ministers and civil servants now need to take to heart themselves.

For over a year, Westminster has been promising action but so far nothing has moved.

There is now no longer an excuse. There is a strong consensus around the regulatory framework that is needed and ministers have the overwhelming support of the public to act.