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Parents have been assured that the Online Safety Bill will not just hold social media companies responsible for illegal content on their platforms, but any material which can “cause serious trauma” to children.
In an open letter, Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan sought to assuage fears that the long-delayed legislation had been watered down after finally returning to parliament.
The proposed law – which aims to regulate online content to help keep users safe, especially children, and to make companies responsible for the material – was amended over concerns about its impact on freedom of expression.
It was tweaked to remove social media sites’ responsibility to take down “legal but harmful” material, which had been criticised by free speech campaigners.
Instead, social media platforms will be made to provide tools to hide certain content – including content that does not meet the criminal threshold but could be harmful.
This includes eating disorder content, which a Sky News investigation found could be recommended through TikTok’s suggested searches function, despite not searching for explicitly harmful content.
Writing to parents, carers, and guardians, Ms Donelan said: “We have already seen too many innocent childhoods destroyed by this kind of content, and I am determined to put these vital protections for your children and loved ones into law as quickly as possible.”
Read more:
Why the Online Safety Bill is proving so controversial
Online Safety Bill might not be too little, but it’s certainly too late
What’s in the Online Safety Bill?
The letter outlines six measures the bill will take to crack down on social media platforms:
• Removing illegal content, including child sexual abuse and terrorist content
• Protecting…
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