Hot Off The Press: Joint Committee's Extensive Recommendations To Improve Online Safety Bill

• Published date: 16 December 2021
• Subject Matter: Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment, IT and Internet, Advertising, Marketing & Branding, Social Media
• Law Firm: Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance (GALA)
• Author: Geraint Lloyd-Taylor (Lewis Silkin - AdLaw)

The Joint Committee responsible for reviewing the controversial Online Safety Bill, has today published its recommendations.

The Joint Committee has undertaken the gargantuan task of listening to the concerns raised by a wide cross section of society, considering how the Online Safety Bill can be improved and making specific recommendations to amend the Bill - all within a tight timeframe.

Its starting point, the current Online Safety Bill, was frankly a bit of a hodgepodge, making the task all the more difficult. However, the Joint Committee has recommended extensive, important, pragmatic and detailed changes to the Bill that should make it fit for purpose, provided those recommendations are taken forward.

The Joint Committee has made extensive recommendations, including to bring very harmful paid advertisements within the scope of the Online Safety Bill, that will be regulated by Ofcom. It has also made recommendations to improve the democratic credentials of the new regime, diluting the Secretary of State's (and government of the day's) power to amend the rules on a whim, but it has also recommended that Ofcom be given even greater powers. It has underscored the importance of protecting the freedom of the press, however, I very much hope that the views of ordinary citizens will not be eclipsed by journalists and news outlets that want to push their agenda. The press continues to play an important role in our democratic society, but so do ordinary people!

More commentary will follow, but in the meantime, the Joint Committee's recommendations are summarised as follows:

• Ofcom should draw up mandatory Codes of Practice for internet service providers. For example, they should write a Code of Conduct on risk areas like Child Exploitation and terrorism. They should also be able to introduce additional Codes as new features or problem areas arise, so the legislation doesn't become outdated as technology develops.
• And they should require the service providers to conduct internal risk assessments to record reasonable foreseeable threats to user safety, including the potential harmful impact of algorithms, not just content.
• The new regulatory regime must contain robust protections for freedom of expression, including an automatic exemption for recognised news publishers, and acknowledge that journalism and public interest speech are fundamental to democracy [Note: while I agree with this principle, I do not want there to be a two tier system in which ordinary...