Wikipedia Wants a Diverse Treatment from the Social Media Companies for Online Safety
Syed Imran Haider 
Wikipedia Foundation wants an exception for the online safety bill. It requires unique treatment from social media firms about the matter. According to Rebecca MacKinnon, the leading member of the Wikimedia Foundation, an anticipated change to the online safety bill would bind freedom of expression.
Thousands of volunteers globally write and edit Encyclopedias hosted by Wikipedia – a non-profit organization. Millions of users visit the site to get the required information. The purpose of the Online Safety Bill is to protect individuals from harmful content on the World Wide Web. The Wikimedia Foundation
Mackinnon believes the foundation worries about how it would affect the bill on volunteer-organized websites. The risk of new and harsh criminal penalties for tech managers will affect significant corporations and public-interest websites like Wikipedia.
Ms. Mackinnon thinks the law should follow the European Union Digital Services Act differentiates between community volunteers’ Wikipedia-style moderation and centralized content moderation performed by managers.
On the other hand, the government says the bill will strike a balance by tackling harm without imposing an unwanted burden on low-risk tech firms. The regulator would take a balanced approach to monitor and apply the safety duties highlighted in the bill. It aimed to focus on services for areas with the highest risk of harm.
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While how the online safety bill impacts websites will partially depend on their size, lawyers highlight some duties mentioned in the document. They promoted them as a strategy to hold back significant tech and said they would affect insignificant services where you can communicate with others.
Almost fifty Tory MPs needed to alter the Online Safety Bill to introduce 24-month sentences for bosses who fail to prevent children from seeing harmful material. Ministers promised to present other similar suggestions under a deal with the rebel to hold off defeat.
According to Neil Brown, an internet & telecoms law-specialized solicitor, the amendments in the Online Safety Bill would impose duties on various individuals. These include those who run their social media or photo & video sharing server or host a multiplayer game, allowing players to converse or see each other’s creations.
Mr. Brown proposes limiting the scope of the Online Safety Bill to the primary commercial operators with multi-million-pound turnover. He believes it would help eliminate the pressure and threats to volunteers and hobbyists. Similar web software company reveals that Wikipedia is the UK’s eighth most-visited online site, where volunteers produce everything and the community chooses the most acceptable content.
Rebecca Mackinnon told the BBC that the net caught it for Facebook and Instagram for centralizing decisions. The foundation thinks the community can make well-informed decisions and does not interfere in the articles. However, the online safety bill could insist it interferes if a volunteer editor keeps up text which might breach UK regulations. It forces the Wikipedia Foundation to go against the community model and proactively bring things down. According to the government, sites like Wikipedia can develop tactics for community moderation, given that it deals with unlawful content and protects kids.
