UK government considers online safety bill after right-wing riots

UK Cabinet Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds announced on Friday that the British government will conduct a review of the regulatory framework. Photo: EFE

August 9, 2024 Time: 17:43

The law states that the government will have the power to impose fines on social media companies in the event of non-compliance.

Following the right-wing riots over the Online Safety Act, UK Cabinet Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds announced on Friday that the UK government will conduct a review of the regulatory framework.

“There are clearly aspects of the Online Safety Act that have not yet come into force. We are prepared to make changes if necessary,” Symonds told Sky News.

Similarly, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, told the Guardian on Thursday that the regulation needed to be amended, after noting the social response it received from the right.

“I think what the government needs to do quickly is to check whether it is fit for purpose. It is not,” he stressed.

Riots broke out in Southport last Tuesday after Welsh-born Axel Rudakubana, of Rwandan descent, attacked several people with a knife at a leisure centre, killing three girls and injuring several others.

The far-right unrest was exacerbated when fake news spread on social media that the perpetrator was an asylum seeker who had crossed the English Channel on a boat.

What does this new law propose?

The rule, which was approved last October and will go into effect — if not suspended — at the beginning of 2025, gives the government the power to fine social media companies for non-compliance with the law.

In addition, the fine will be 10 percent of the business volume of the corporate entities in this technology sector.

This would completely change the reality of the country’s cyberspace, where companies have so far only paid fines if they fail to monitor illegal content or incite hatred.

Under the new law, Ofcom, the body responsible for regulating media and digital content, can impose penalties on companies that allow the spread of “legal but harmful” content, in this context misinformation.

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