Some of the most “insidious” images of child abuse and violence against women and girls could evade new online safety laws, a group of MPs has warned.
The Commons’ Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee which is scrutinising the government’s draft Online Safety Bill says the legislation is currently neither clear nor robust enough to tackle some forms of illegal and harmful content.
In its report published today, the committee calls on the government to address types of content that are technically legal such as parts of child abuse sequences known as “breadcrumbing” or tech-enabled “nudifying” and deepfake pornography.
The MPs want such content to be brought into scope either through primary legislation or as types of harmful content covered by the duties of care.
‘A missed opportunity’
“In its current form what should be world-leading, landmark legislation instead represents a missed opportunity,” said Julian Knight MP, chair of the DCMS Committee.
“The Online Safety Bill neither protects freedom of expression nor is it clear nor robust enough to tackle illegal and harmful online content. Urgency is required to ensure that some of the most pernicious forms of child sexual abuse do not evade detection because of a failure in the online safety law.”
Frankie Thomas was just 15 when she took her own life after reading graphic online content relating to self-harm and suicide.
“I cannot convey the shock,” her mother Judy told Sky News. “And that’s it, final, it’s the end of the story. It’s just like that. We knew she had special needs and she was diagnosed with autism when she was five. But we had no idea this was in her mind.”
Frankie had high-functioning autism and attended a special educational needs school. An inquest into her death heard that she was at risk of impulsive behaviour and was vulnerable to suggestion.
Source : skynews
