Syed Imran Haider 
The Online Safety Bill is under discussion for an amendment that may see tech bosses facing up to two-year jail if their social media platforms repeatedly fail to protect children from harmful content. Rishi Sunak, the UK Prime Minister, recognized the pressure from a group of Conservative MPs who demanded the PM to make tech chiefs criminally liable for repeatedly breaching their duty of care to young children.
Labour also backs the move to send social media chiefs behind the bar for significant breaches. The legislation aims to give more powers to Ofcom, the communications watchdog, to make the Internet a safer domain for children. The Online Safety Bill is already in the House of Commons, where MPs will vote in favor or against it.
Amendment in the Online Safety Bill
The proposed amendment in the Online Safety Bill will require those running sites with user-generated content, such as social media platforms, to take proportionate measures to prevent children from checking out harmful content, including self-harm-promoting videos.
Mr. Rishi Sunak had faced the Commons defeat several times, though he agreed to an amendment in the Online Safety Bill last night. Tory backbenchers wanted the PM to take stricter measures for the most significant breaches by tech firms, including those cases where social media platforms do not pay attention to recurrent implementation notices from Ofcom. However, the amended bill will not criminalize tech bosses who comply with their duties proportionately.
The shadow culture secretary to the Labour Party, Ms. Lucy Powell, said the Labour Party has been demanding stronger criminal sanctions for months. According to Powell, the party has no idea where the UK government stands on these unavoidable issues. The proposed enforcement is over a narrow set of measures after the administration disemboweled much of the Online Safety Bill before the Christmas holidays.
Countering Digital Hate, a British organization, backs the prison amendment in the said bill youth protection. According to its CEO, Imran Ahmed, managers who do not take the necessary measures to prevent the spread of harmful content are accountable to the public. They must accept their failure. Silicon Valley tech chiefs have run with impunity beyond the law for too long. It is time to end it.
Delays in the Online Safety Bill
The Online Safety Bill aims to crack down on harmful content, such as online scams, child sexual abuse, and terrorist posts spread over user-generated material sites and social media platforms. While the Online Safety Bill has the public support of the families of teenagers who ruined their lives due to harmful content, its enforcement has faced lengthy delays. However, some critics believe that the amendment in the online safety legislation will pave the way for online censorship.
Privacy campaigners warn that the law would allow Ofcom surveillance powers to undermine the security and privacy of whistleblowers and journalists. Mathew Hodgeon, the Co-Founder of a decentralized British messaging app – Element, said if the Online Safety Bill gets approval, it will make the United Kingdom stand among the world’s least safe nations for businesses and consumers.
