Whatever side of the argument you come down on, whether this softening of the proposed bill protects free speech or reduces the protection of the vulnerable – some of the toughest parts of the Online Safety Bill aimed at some of the richest companies on the planet are no longer there.
What will happen now is that platforms will move the responsibility back to the users who will have to select automatic filters to filter out subjects they do not want see! Most of these users have not even read the Ts and Cs they agreed to with a click when they signed up – have you. There is also the issue that to decide you do not want to read certain content, you have probably already been exposed to that content, now you know you do not want to be exposed to that type of content – this sounds like a Donald Rumsfeld Solution.
The bill still emphasises that only legal content can be posted, that platforms must take action over illegal content and that underaged users must be identified and protected.
Online Safety Bill: Plan to make big tech remove harmful content axed – BBC News
The Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan. does not think these changes have had any impact on the protection offered by the bill.
Online Safety Bill: Tech firms accused of prioritising profits over children – BBC News
I am a supporter of free speech and privacy – but free speech comes with responsibility and this bill was going to enforce and strengthen that responsibility, both for the platforms and those who feel free speech includes what many of us would think of as abuse.
Two examples of free speech gone wrong
Why Big Tech automated moderation fails… – Smart Thinking Solutions
As I have said before – read the bill and get involved.
Clive Catton MSc (Cyber Security) – by-line and other articles
Further Reading
Online Safety Bill articles (Smart Thinking Solutions)
Online Safety Act publications – Parliamentary Bills – UK Parliament
Smart Thinking Solutions supports this UK Government initiative:
Let’s stop abuse together – Stop Abuse Together (campaign.gov.uk)
