After the government agreed to toughen a proposed law in order to prevent the possibility of the prime minister suffering his first parliamentary loss, tech executives in Britain may face jail time if their platforms fail to protect youngsters from online violence.
Tuesday’s House of Commons vote on the long-delayed Online Safety Bill was in jeopardy after 50 members of his Conservative Party and the major opposition party declared their support for yet another amendment.
The rebels had submitted an amendment that called for up to two years in prison for tech executives who failed to shield youngsters from content including child abuse and self-harm.
The government agreed to modifications to the law that would allow executives to go to jail if they “consent or connive” to breaking the new restrictions, according to Michelle Donelan, the minister of culture and digital media.
“Those who have acted in good faith will not be impacted by this amendment,” she said. However, it would offer “more teeth to deliver change and guarantee that people are held accountable if they fail to adequately protect children.”
Since taking office in October, Prime Minister Sunak, who has a majority of 67, has caved in to similar uprisings in Parliament three times. He already caved in the face of protests over housing objectives and onshore wind farm limits.
Along with the European Union and other nations, Britain has struggled to safeguard social media users, especially minors, from harmful information without curtailing free speech.
The original intent of the measure was to establish one of the strictest regulatory systems for controlling websites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
It attempted to force businesses to remove illegal content from their websites, such as encouragement to commit suicide and revenge pornography.
The necessity to stop “legal but damaging content” was eliminated in November, though, on the grounds that it may impair free speech, which resulted in a watering down of the recommendations. According to the authorities, platforms must instead enforce age restrictions.
Companies that fail to take action to delete illegal content or restrict access for minors risk fines of up to 10% of annual revenue.
Threatening executives with jail time, according to industry group techUK, wouldn’t help create an effective system to protect children, but it would hurt the UK’s digital economy.
It said that the amendment caused “substantial legal peril for firms” and would make Britain a less desirable location for investors. “The law as prepared does have ‘teeth’ that would enforce compliance,” it stated.