What is the online safety bill?
What is the online safety bill?
Parliament made a world-first step in online safety by introducing the Online Safety Bill. The bill is designed to make the internet a safer place for everyone, especially children and young people. This brand-new piece of legislation will require social media platforms and tech companies to protect their users from harmful content and behaviour. So, what exactly does this mean for brands? And how can you stay safe online?
The goal of this post is to give you a summary of what this bill is all about, explain why it matters to brands, and help you stay ahead of any potential changes coming down the pipeline. So, if you're curious about this piece of proposed legislation, read on!
What does the online safety bill do?
The Online Safety Bill is a piece of proposed legislation that was introduced to Parliament in the UK in March 2022. If passed, it will require social media platforms and tech companies to protect their users from harmful content and behaviour.
The Online Safety Bill will change the way we interact with our digital world. The law marks an important milestone in protecting children from harmful content on social media platforms and other online sources, while also ensuring freedom of speech isn't violated by illegal posts or terms that are not lived up to.
The Bill will strengthen people’s rights to express themselves freely online and ensure social media companies are not removing legal free speech. For the first time, users have a right of appeal if they feel their post has been taken down unfairly or incorrectly handled by one platform alone.
The Bill will also put requirements on social media firms to protect journalism and democratic political debate. News content is completely exempt from any regulation under this law, which ensures that people have access to information about current events without bias or prejudice in their news feeds.
The new legislation will make it easier for social media platforms to remove content that is legal but harmful, such as exposure of self-harm and harassment. The new law will make it easier to remove legal content that can cause harm, as well as clear up any grey area around what constitutes harmful.
Why does this bill matter to brands?
As a business, it's important for you to stay up-to-date on any potential changes in online safety laws. The Online Safety Bill is still in the proposal stages, so there may be some changes before it's officially passed into law. However, if this bill does become law, it will have a big impact on how social media platforms operate. So, it's important to be aware of what this bill includes and how it could affect your business.
This new law will require social media platforms, search engines and other apps to protect children from illegal activity. With Ofcom regulating, fines for non-compliance are up 10% of annual global turnover - forcing companies into compliance with laws they may not have been aware existed before now!
The government has announced this month that executives whose companies fail to cooperate with Ofcom's online safety bill could now face prosecution or jail time within two months of the Bill becoming law, instead of two years as it was previously drafted.
Brands should assess if their site is likely to be accessed by children and protect them from harmful content such as pornography or violence.
They'll also need to read the terms & conditions for social media sites they use - because those platforms are more transparent than ever before. This so adults can make informed decisions about whether using a particular platform based on what might show up when browsing online, so make sure all your posts are within the platform's guidelines.
Which companies will the new laws affect?
The new laws will apply to companies whose services host user-generated content such as images, videos and comments or platforms where UK users can communicate with other people online through messaging or forum posts. This Includes:
Social Media Platforms
Forums and messaging apps
Select online games
Cloud Storage
Sites showing adult content - the new legislation will require sites which publish pornographic content to ensure that those under 18 cannot access age-inappropriate material.
Search Engines - where users can easily access harmful content
The new framework will give regulators the power to take appropriate action against all companies in scope, no matter where they're based. This is essential given that global internet services are being regulated for the first time ever!
Some services with user-generated content will be exempt from the new framework. This includes:
News websites,
Some retail services
Some services used internally by businesses
Email services.
To create a more informed and empowered customer base, the new laws will set expectations on how brands respond to complaints. All companies are required by law to have clear ways for users (including children) who report harmful content or challenge wrongful take downs
Previous Versions of the online safety bill, and its changes.
The government has made a number of changes to the bill since it was first published in draft last May. These include:
Looking into ways of giving people more control over who can contact them and what they see online, with a focus on anonymous trolls.
All websites which publish or host pornography will be required to put robust checks in place, with the age requirement set at 18 years old.
Having companies take a proactive approach to tackle harmful illegal content and criminal activity quicker.
The government making a major move to combat online fraud by including paid-for scams in their scope.
Criminalising cyberflashing, which is unsolicited sexual images through airdrop or Bluetooth
The Online Safety Bill - Your opinion
The Online Safety Bill is a landmark piece of legislation that will make the internet a safer place for everyone in the UK. It has been designed to protect children and young people from online harm and will have a ripple effect across all levels of society. This bill is an important step forward in online safety, and we are interested to see how it impacts individuals, organisations, and businesses when it comes into force later this year. What are your thoughts on the Online Safety Bill? Let us know in the comments below.