{"id":122109,"date":"2019-04-09T11:16:03","date_gmt":"2019-04-09T10:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=122109"},"modified":"2019-04-09T13:50:31","modified_gmt":"2019-04-09T12:50:31","slug":"reaction-to-government-proposals-to-tackle-online-harms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/reaction-to-government-proposals-to-tackle-online-harms\/","title":{"rendered":"Reaction to Government proposals to tackle \u2018online harms\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Government has published a white paper that proposes a new regulator to oversee and enforce a \u2018statutory duty of care\u2019 by online tech companies. Enforcement includes the ability to issue \u2018substantial fines\u2019 and to \u2018impose liability on individual members of senior management\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The detailed white paper<\/a> proposals draw a particular focus to terrorist activity and child sexual exploitation and abuse online, and say the Home Secretary would have final sign-off on the codes of practice that govern these harms. In what may be seen as a big threat to social and search giants\u2019 proprietary practices, the proposals also call for the regulator to have the ability to see the impact of algorithms in selecting content for users.<\/p>\n

This white paper comes off the back of Mark Zuckerberg calling for government regulation<\/a> of the internet \u2013 and though cynics may suggest a tech boss requesting specific<\/em> regulation is not as wholesome as it appears, \u2018harmful content\u2019 is an area he wants more regulation over. Of course, having read the Government\u2019s white paper, Zuckerberg may now regret inviting this in to his company\u2019s ethos.<\/p>\n

Reaction to the proposals has been mixed, with many questioning the ethics of Government intervention in online spaces in what could be perceived as an attack on free speech. The fact the white paper claims it has a vision for \u2018a free, open and secure internet\u2019 with \u2018freedom of expression online\u2019, seems in many ways to directly contradict the requirement for tech companies to actively remove harmful content.<\/p>\n

The Guardian has summarised many of the fears around the proposals here<\/a>, which includes the line, \u2018critics say online harms white paper could lead to North Korean-style censorship\u2019.<\/p>\n

These concerns were reflected across Twitter:<\/p>\n

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Even smaller voice: Have they any inkling how big the Internet is?<\/p>\n

\u2014 David Banks (@DBanksy) April 8, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n