Media minister Nicky Morgan told parliament she was "minded to" give the Office of Communications (Ofcom) the powers to oversee online user-generated content. But she said the expanded agency—dubbed the "first internet watchdog" by UK media—would lack the power to take down offensive posts or block platforms that violate "their duty of care".
Those suggestions were outlined in a set of proposals published last April by the government of former prime minister Theresa May. The proposal was seen as a measure of last resort by May's media minister. Morgan and Interior Minister Priti Patel published a report outlining Ofcom's "power to issue warnings, notices and substantial fines" to companies "that facilitate the sharing of (abusive) user-generated content". The two senior ministers stressed they were equally conscious of respecting freedoms of expression and remaining a "pro-technology government".
Ofcom was established in 2002 and began to formally oversee television and radio the following year. But Britain has no official internet or social media regulator and is looking for ways to stop harmful online material from reaching children. The issue gained added urgency when a British schoolgirl killed herself in 2017 after following a series of accounts about suicide and depression on Instagram and Pinterest. Social media giants such as Facebook want governments to adopt a common rulebook and oversight bodies that could take the pressure off their own management teams. The big tech companies have said they also want the government to clarify how "legal content" is defined.
The Internet Association lobby, which represents companies such as Amazon and Google, said it had several "issues of concern" about Britain's plan. These include "the scope of regulation, treatment of legal but potentially harmful content, and enforcement powers," its UK chief Daniel Dyball said. The UK report said social media executives rebelled at the idea of London fining individual managers who fail to respond to the regulator's warnings.
The government has been consulting top social media managers about its proposals for over a year. Britain's role in drafting a universal solution was boosted by Mark Zuckerberg's appointment in 2018 of former UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg as Facebook's head of global affairs and communications. Clegg and Zuckerberg are now setting up an oversight board at Facebook that would issue final rulings on contentious content. The government said it will set out its final proposals in the coming months.
https://techxplore.com/news/2020-02-britain-internet-watchdog.html
Those suggestions were outlined in a set of proposals published last April by the government of former prime minister Theresa May. The proposal was seen as a measure of last resort by May's media minister. Morgan and Interior Minister Priti Patel published a report outlining Ofcom's "power to issue warnings, notices and substantial fines" to companies "that facilitate the sharing of (abusive) user-generated content". The two senior ministers stressed they were equally conscious of respecting freedoms of expression and remaining a "pro-technology government".
Ofcom was established in 2002 and began to formally oversee television and radio the following year. But Britain has no official internet or social media regulator and is looking for ways to stop harmful online material from reaching children. The issue gained added urgency when a British schoolgirl killed herself in 2017 after following a series of accounts about suicide and depression on Instagram and Pinterest. Social media giants such as Facebook want governments to adopt a common rulebook and oversight bodies that could take the pressure off their own management teams. The big tech companies have said they also want the government to clarify how "legal content" is defined.
The Internet Association lobby, which represents companies such as Amazon and Google, said it had several "issues of concern" about Britain's plan. These include "the scope of regulation, treatment of legal but potentially harmful content, and enforcement powers," its UK chief Daniel Dyball said. The UK report said social media executives rebelled at the idea of London fining individual managers who fail to respond to the regulator's warnings.
The government has been consulting top social media managers about its proposals for over a year. Britain's role in drafting a universal solution was boosted by Mark Zuckerberg's appointment in 2018 of former UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg as Facebook's head of global affairs and communications. Clegg and Zuckerberg are now setting up an oversight board at Facebook that would issue final rulings on contentious content. The government said it will set out its final proposals in the coming months.
https://techxplore.com/news/2020-02-britain-internet-watchdog.html
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