British govt to hold tech giants to account over antisemitism
By DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDSA lock icon, signifying an encrypted Internet connection, is seen on an Internet Explorer browser in a photo illustration in Paris April 15, 2014(photo credit: MAL LANGSDON/REUTERS)
Britain is set to hold social-media executives personally accountable for antisemitism and other harmful content posted on their networks, with company bosses liable to face jail time for serious breaches under newly introduced regulations.The British government will publish later this month the results of a consultation into policing online platforms such as Facebook and Google, detailing the measures it plans to introduce after Britain leaves the EU on January 31, British daily The Times reported.New regulations likely to emerge include placing the companies under a statutory duty of care, enforced by broadcasting watchdog Ofcom. Foreign companies would be required to appoint a British-based director who would be held personally accountable for any breaches in the duty of care, under new “senior management liability” rules. Breaches of the rules would result in fines or even jail time for the company managers.Ofcom will be responsible for drawing up legally enforceable codes of practice detailing what the tech companies need to do to protect Internet users from harmful content. According to The Times, the rules will cover terrorism, child abuse, illegal drug or weapon sales, cyber bullying, self-harm, harassment, disinformation, violence and pornography.Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party pledged to make the changes in their recent election manifesto, which read: “We will legislate to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online – protecting children from online abuse and harms, protecting the most vulnerable from accessing harmful content, and ensuring there is no safe space for terrorists to hide online.”However, tougher measures floated into the consultation, such as asking Internet providers to block access to sites or apps being accessed from Britain, are not likely to be introduced.A levy on technology companies to help fund the extra regulation is being considered, although penalties for breaches of the regulations will be tapered to avoid hitting smaller companies harder than big tech giants.In the Queen’s Speech in December, the government promised to move forward with legislation following the consultation – with a voluntary code of practice being introduced before the legislation comes into force – to encourage companies to rethink their approach to harmful content online.When the consultation was released over the summer, concerns were raised that the measures could impact press freedom. But the Conservatives pledged in their manifesto to protect freedom of the press.The Campaign for Antisemitism welcomed the tougher regulations, saying it had “long called” for “social networks [to] proactively search for and remove hate speech from their platforms.”A statement on its website said: “It is reassuring to hear that social media sites will be held responsible for cleaning up their own sites. It is vital that Ofcom ensures that complex hate crime on social media is properly identified and understood, and that antisemitism is carefully monitored.”
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