While the Internet has brought us myriad benefits, we also know that it can be a frightening place to venture – we’ve all accidently stumbled upon something which is explicit or dangerous. Inappropriate content which is just downright unpleasant is just a click away.
While the law surrounding this type of content is fairly clear in the ‘real world’, it’s taken longer to regulate online. However, the UK’s landmark Online Safety Bill – which seeks to regulate social media and tech giants - is likely to become law this year (2022).
The draft Bill was recently the subject of a 191-page report by a Joint Committee, made up of MPs and peers, which said ‘we need to call time on the Wild West online’. It said the Bill should cover more offences including promoting violence against women, paid-for scam advertising, the sending of unwanted naked images and content promoting self-harm. It also said children should not be able to access explicit material. The Government has two months to respond to the report.
Damian Collins, chairman of the Joint Committee and MP for Folkestone and Hythe, said: "What's illegal offline should be regulated online. For too long, big tech has gotten away with being the land of the lawless.... the era of self-regulation for big tech has come to an end."
The report said that Ofcom, which is set to become the regulator for the sector, should be given more powers to investigate, audit and fine tech companies. It also said Ofcom should draw up mandatory codes of practice for internet service providers, with named senior managers at firms designated the ‘safety controller; and made liable if a service is found to fail to protect users.
But is Ofcom ready for such a huge undertaking and does it have the knowledge? Its track record with, for instance, enforcing the EU cookie banner, isn’t great.
Also, there are parallels here to be drawn with the implementation of the GDPR, with the appointment of somebody within an organisation – in this case the ‘safety controller’ with whom the buck stops. Will Ofcom give guidance to providers or simply be there to enforce fines if a breach is detected? There should be a measure of what is good enough or acceptable before it will be possible to ascertain if breaches have been made.
The Online Safety Bill is seen as one of the most far-reaching attempts to date to regulate online content. The first draft, published in May, put a ‘duty of care’ on large social websites to remove harmful or illegal content and protect children. But it was largely left up to the tech giants themselves to police, with oversight from media regulator Ofcom.
Mr Collins said these changes would ‘bring more offences clearly within the scope of the Online Safety Bill, give Ofcom the power in law to set minimum safety standards for the services they will regulate, and to take enforcement action against companies if they don't comply’.
It does seem hard to understand why the same laws which cover bullying and hate in the ‘real world’ can’t be simply applied online as well? While freedom of speech should always remain, somebody standing on a soap box in a High Street promoting hate or terrorism, would soon be arrested, as the existing laws surrounding this are robust.
While we know that regulation is needed, the Government has a poor track record on enforcing or, indeed, understanding, technology. The Report, for instance, doesn’t make any moves to ban the use of end-to-end encryption, which has been criticised by some politicians and child safety advocates as enabling criminal activity.
We all know that end-to-end encryption exists as providers, such as WhatsApp, are keen to let us know that its platforms use it. Here’s what WhatsApp says on its website: Some of your most personal moments are shared with WhatsApp, which is why we built end-to-end encryption into our app. When end-to-end encrypted, your messages, photos, videos, voice messages, documents, and calls are secured from falling into the wrong hands.
If somebody wants to spread ‘illegal’ content online, then the technology exists to enable them to do it.
Of course, we do know that mass censorship already exists on the Internet – look no further than China’s ‘Great Firewall’. There the Government regulates the Internet domestically and there is a certain amount of censorship. It’s hard though, as ever, to draw the line. In many ways, what is offensive to some is not offensive to others although, of course, protecting children should be a priority.
If you’ve got any questions, do get in touch with our team at Lake Solutions on tel: 020 3397 3222.