UK Unveils Fining Social Media Firms that Fail to Remove Online Abuse

The United Kingdom is planning to pass a new law that seeks to strengthen freedom of expression, ensure democratic political debate, and sanction social media companies who fail to stamp out online abuses.

The Online Safety bill, if passed into law, will require social media companies and websites to ensure they take swift action to remove illegal content, such as hate crimes, harassment and threats directed at individuals, and all kinds of abuse that falls below the criminal threshold.

Social media companies will also be required to remove or limit the spread of terrorist material, child abuse, and suicide content which they will be compelled to report to authorities.

Companies that fail to comply face hefty fines of up to $25 million from regulator Ofcom which can also block access to their sites.

The bill will also require companies to protect freedom of expression and reinstate material that was removed unfairly, forbidding tech organizations against discriminating political viewpoints, with Ofcom holding them accountable for the arbitrary removal of journalistic content.

For more information, you may view the original story from Reuters