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Following the murder of Sir David Amess and an arrest after another MP was emailed a death threat, senior figures in Westminster are decrying the abuse directed towards politicians over the internet.
Parliament is currently scrutinising the proposed solution to these abusive messages, the draft Online Safety Bill, which aims to establish a new way to regulate online content – covering not just abusive messages but all harmful material online, from bullying through to pornography.
It has the support of England’s Children’s Commissioner and the NSPCC, but some are concerned the law will end up introducing more problems than it solves. They have criticised the current draft for its potential to have a chilling effect on free speech and hand censorship powers to the government.
What does the Online Safety Bill aim to do?
The Online Safety Bill will introduce obligations on companies to keep their users safe.
That safety is defined in broad terms. It covers material that is already illegal under English law (such as images of child abuse) as well as material that is considered legal but harmful.
Technology companies will also be required to protect their users’ rights to freedom of expression and privacy.
How these companies comply with the law will be monitored by Ofcom which will become the online safety regulator.
A draft of the bill is currently going through pre-legislative scrutiny in parliament by a joint committee made up of members of the House of Commons and House of Lords.
This committee will report back by 10 December after which the government will look at the report and see if any changes are required. After this the bill will be formally introduced to parliament to begin its journey into law.
David Davis MP has described the law as a censor’s charter
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Source : skynews
