SOCIAL media companies will be legally required to protect service users with management held liable if they do not comply with rules on harmful content, according to a new UK Government White Paper.
The proposal from the Home Office and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) says a regulator will be appointed to ensure the online platforms meet their responsibilities.
These expectations will be set out in a mandatory duty of care, which will require firms to take responsibility for the safety of users and more actively tackle the harm caused by content or activity on the services.
Prime Minister Theresa May said the proposals shows self-regulation for web firms is over.
“Online companies must start taking responsibility for their platforms, and help restore public trust in this technology,” she said.
Peter Wanless, chief executive of children’s charity the NSPCC, added the proposals would make the UK a “world pioneer” in protecting children online.
“For too long social networks have failed to prioritise children’s safety and left them exposed to grooming, abuse, and harmful content,” he said.
“So it’s high time they were forced to act through this legally binding duty to protect children, backed up with hefty punishments if they fail to do so.”
Meanwhile, writing in the Mail on Sunday, former culture secretary John Whittingdale warned the Government risked dragging people into a “draconian censorship regime” in their attempts to regulate internet firms.
He said countries like China, Russia and North Korea were “also keen to impose censorship online”.
But responding to the proposals, Facebook’s head of public policy Rebecca Stimson accepted the company has “much more to do”.
“These are complex issues to get right and we look forward to working with the Government and Parliament to ensure new regulations are effective,” she added.
A 12-week consultation of the proposals will now take place before the Government will publish its final proposals for legislation.
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