Ofcom will have ‘teeth’ to police the tech giants, promises Patel
PRITI PATEL has pledged that as online regulator, Ofcom will “have the teeth” to enforce a statutory duty of care on tech giants amid concerns at a Government delay over sanctions. Writing exclusively in The Daily
Telegraph today, the Home Secretary promises Ofcom will have “tough enforcement rules” to penalise social media and internet firms that fail to protect children and users.
Ms Patel says tech giants have been given the chance “time and again” to safeguard users but have failed in some cases, and in others are “actively” making changes that would create “havens for criminals and predators”.
She describes “horror stories” where companies have allowed the internet to be “weaponised” for grooming children, violence, cyber-bullying, the promotion of self-harm and trolling.
Citing the case of Molly Russell, the teenager who took her life after viewing self-harm content online, Ms Patel says: “If those firms will not accept the responsibility, the Government will step in.
“I will not accept a Wild West web where these types of harms can fester and thrive.”
Her pledge comes as it was yesterday confirmed that a decision on the sanctions at Ofcom’s disposal will not be taken until spring when the Government unveils its full response to last summer’s White Paper on online harms.
Campaigners such as the NSPCC and MPS including Julian Knight, the culture committee chairman, yesterday warned the duty of care would only be effective through sanctions that “bite” including “hefty” fines, criminal prosecution, the threat of jail and power to block firms’ access to UK users.
Ministers are still considering whether to arm Ofcom with powers to prosecute senior tech executives or ban sites in the UK, via a process known
‘I will not accept a Wild West web where these types of harms can fester and thrive’
‘We will soon be setting out the tough enforcement tools that Ofcom will have at its disposal’
as ISP blocking, for serious breaches. Their interim response to consultations revealed yesterday that blocking access to UK users was the “main area of concern” for tech giants who fear harsh sanctions for breaching their duty of care would become an “unacceptable business risk”.
They warned that plans to make named directors liable for breaches and possible prosecution could have “negative impacts” on the “attractiveness” of the UK for the industry.
However, Ms Patel says: “Soon, we will be setting out the tough enforcement tools Ofcom will have at its disposal to sanction those who do not put systems in place to protect their users. Ofcom will have teeth when it comes to holding tech firms to account.” She goes on to praise The Telegraph’s “trailblazing” campaign for a duty of care, saying that the era of self-regulation of the internet is “coming to an end”.
The Government, in response to concerns about internet safety and tech firms’ efforts to put safeguards in place, pledged to protect freedom of expression with regulations that would not stop adults accessing or posting legal content some might find offensive. Only firms that allow sharing of usergenerated content will be covered under five per cent of UK businesses.
Tech firms were told that under the new duty of care they would be expected to remove illegal content “expeditiously” and take “particularly robust action” to purge their sites of terrorist or child abuse material.
The Government said the regulator would not be able to “force companies
– to remove specific pieces of legal content” but would instead make tech firms decide what is and is not allowed on their sites and then enforce their own rules.
Tech giants were told they would also have to “ensure a higher level of protection for children” and take “reasonable steps” to shield them from harmful content.