The UK Government Is Planning To Set Up A Regulator For The Internet
The UK Government Is Planning To Set Up A Regulator For
The Internet
Exclusive: BuzzFeed News has obtained details of plans
being drawn up by ministers that also include a compulsory code of conduct and
age verification for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
By Alex Wickham September 20, 2018, at 8:52 a.m.
The UK government is preparing to establish a new
internet regulator that would make tech firms liable for content published on
their platforms and have the power to sanction companies that fail to take down
illegal material and hate speech within hours, BuzzFeed News can reveal.
Under legislation being drafted by the Home Office and
the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) due to be announced
this winter, a new regulatory framework for online “social harms” would be
created.
BuzzFeed News has obtained details of the proposals,
which would see the establishment of an internet regulator similar to Ofcom,
which regulates broadcasters, telecoms, and postal communications.
Home secretary Sajid Javid and culture secretary Jeremy
Wright are considering the introduction of a mandatory code of practice for
social media platforms and strict new rules such as "takedown times"
forcing websites to remove illegal hate speech within a set timeframe or face
penalties.
Ministers are also looking at implementing age
verification for users of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
A promise to regulate the internet was buried at the back
of the Conservative manifesto for last year's general election. "Some
people say that it is not for government to regulate when it comes to
technology and the internet," the manifesto stated. "We
disagree."
The new proposals are still in the development stage and
are due to be put out for consultation later this year. A spokesperson for the
government confirmed it is "considering all options", including a
regulator.
The planned regulator would have powers to impose
punitive sanctions on social media platforms that fail to remove terrorist
content, child abuse images, or hate speech, as well as enforcing new
regulations on non-illegal content and behaviour online.
The rules for what constitutes non-illegal content will
be the subject of what is likely to be a hotly debated consultation. The
regulator would be ultimately accountable to parliament.
BuzzFeed News has also been told ministers are looking at
creating a second new regulator for online advertising. Its powers would
include a crackdown on online advertisements for food and soft drink products
that are high in salt, fat, or sugar.
Currently, online advertisements are regulated by the
Advertising Standards Authority.
Government sources have indicated that their frustration
that the tech industry has failed to take voluntary action to promote online
safety has led them to pursue a mandatory approach.
When the previous culture secretary, Matt Hancock,
invited 14 tech companies in for talks on online safety earlier this year, only
four firms turned up.
Ministers have concluded that the voluntary approach only
achieved progress with a few tech giants over specific issues such as terrorist
content, and that new laws are required to force smaller and medium-sized
social media platforms to take action against a wider range of content.
This will involve producing a single legal framework for
internet safety and increasing the legal liability for sites that provide a
platform for illegal content.
Social media companies will be forced to sign up to a
code of practice and new requirements to assist the police in investigating
criminal activity online.
The government is looking at legislation passed in
Germany last year requiring social media platforms to remove illegal hate
speech within 24 hours or face fines of up to 50 million euros.
The German law was vociferously opposed by human rights
groups and industry representatives who warned it would lead to censorship and
an unmanageable burden on smaller websites.
It encountered problems in its first few months when a
satirical magazine and a political street artist had their content blocked.
The government is set to introduce age verification for
social media platforms, after ministers raised concerns that children are
currently only required to tick a box saying they are over the age of 13.
DCMS has previously indicated that it would seek to
impose mandatory transparency reports on social media platforms and implement
the recommendations of the Law Commission review into online communications.
It has also introduced legislation to block pornography
sites that refuse to use age verification controls.
The proposal for a new regulator of online social harms
will raise significant questions about the government’s ability to make tech
firms based outside the UK liable for content that users post on their
platforms, how hate speech will be sanctioned, and how to determine what
non-illegal content merits state-backed oversight.
BuzzFeed News understands concerns have been raised in
Whitehall that the regulation of non-illegal content will spark opposition from
free speech campaigners and MPs.
There are also fears internally that some of the measures
being considered, including blocking websites that do not adhere to the new
regulations, are so draconian that they will generate considerable opposition.
On Tuesday, the head of Ofcom Sharon White called for
tech companies to be regulated in the same way as the mobile phone and
broadband industries.
"The boundaries between broadcasting and the online
world are being redrawn. This has implications for the public’s understanding
of what protections apply online, versus traditional media," White said,
arguing that "certain principles from broadcasting regulation could be
relevant as policymakers consider issues around online protection".
But doubts have long been raised inside the tech industry
as to how state-backed regulation of social media would work, the resources it
would require to do so successfully, and whether it is even possible to impose
a legal framework on firms headquartered in the US and elsewhere.
A government spokesperson confirmed to BuzzFeed News that
the plans would be unveiled later this year. "This winter we will publish
a White Paper, setting out new laws to tackle the full range of online harms
and set clear responsibilities for tech companies to keep UK citizens
safe," they said. "We are considering all options, including what
legislation will be necessary and whether a regulator is needed."
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