DCMS Sub-Committee On Online Harms And Disinformation Launches New Inquiry Into Government's Approach To Tackling Harmful Online Content

• Published date: 05 August 2021
• Subject Matter: Government, Public Sector, Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment, IT and Internet, Terrorism, Homeland Security & Defence, Social Media
• Law Firm: Wiggin
• Author: Wiggin LLP

The Sub-Committee explains that the Government's draft Online Safety Bill would compel social media sites and search engines to remove harmful content such as terrorist content, child sexual exploitation and abuse and disinformation that causes individual harm.

The Sub-Committee has launched an inquiry to investigate how focus has shifted since the introduction of the Online Safety Strategy Green Paper in 2017, including concerns that the definition of harm is now too narrow and may fail to address issues such as non-state intervention in elections, racist abuse and content that contributes to self-harm and negative body image.

It will also explore key omissions of the draft Bill, such as a general duty for tech companies to deal with reasonably foreseeable harms, a focus on transparency and due process mechanisms or regulatory powers to deal with urgent security threats and how any gaps can be filled before the Bill is finalised. Another focus will be on where lessons can be learned from international efforts to regulate big tech, such as in France, Germany and Australia.

The DCMS Sub-Committee is inviting written submissions addressing the following areas:

• How has the shifting focus between "online harms" and "online safety" influenced the development of the new regime and draft Bill?
• Is it necessary to have an explicit definition and process for determining harm to children and adults in the Online Safety Bill and what should it be?
• Does the draft Bill focus enough...