No more Wild West web
Sites that fail to protect users could be fined 10% of turnover or blocked in UK
TECH firms face fines of up to 10 per cent of their global turnover if they fail to protect users from harm, ministers will announce today.
Internet companies that do not remove dangerous posts such as child abuse images, terrorist material and suicide content could even have their sites blocked in the UK.
And firms such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Twitter could also be punished if they fail to prove they are doing all they can to tackle disinformation about topics such as coronavirus vaccines under the new laws.
However, there are also concerns the legislation does not go far enough to protect legitimate news on the internet, and that social media news feeds could be censored by tech giants.
Under the new rules, ministers say that as a last resort senior managers of the firms could be held criminally liable for serious failings – although that would only be brought in if other measures were shown not to work.
The Government is also considering whether to make the promotion of self-harm illegal. The rules are designed to protect users of sites which allow people to post their own content or interact with others.
The laws will not affect articles and comment sections on news websites, and there will be extra measures to protect free speech.
These have yet to be agreed, however, and there is widespread concern that when news is accessed via social media or search engines, internet giants will try to shield themselves against draconian penalties by setting their algorithms to censor content which is controversial but legitimate – for example an article criticising the Government’s handling of the Covid crisis.
Critics also say commercial organisations should not have the power to decide what news the public can read in social media news feeds, if it comes from legitimate news organisations.
But Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: ‘I’m unashamedly protech but that can’t mean a tech free-for-all. Today Britain is setting the global standard for safety online with the most comprehensive approach yet to online regulation.’
The Mail has long campaigned for children to be protected online, particularly via a duty of care.
The Online Harms Bill will be introduced next year. Under its terms, communications regulator Ofcom will have the power to fine companies failing in their duty of care up to £18million or 10 per cent of annual global turnover, whichever is higher, or to block non-compliant services.
Media Minister John Whittingdale welcomed the legislation. He said: ‘No government should stand by while this despicable content stains the minds of our most vulnerable.
‘Internet companies will for the first time have a legal duty of care towards their users. This will force them to curb the spread of illegal content and shield children from harmful material.’