Key Facts

• Amendment 23 proposes inserting 'that targets users' after 'service'.
• New clause 5 introduces a duty for Category 2A service providers to clearly distinguish paid-for advertisements from other content.
• New clause 6 mandates an advertisement verification process for relevant advertisements on Category 2A services, requiring advertisers to demonstrate authorization by UK regulatory bodies.
• The Financial Conduct Authority estimates that fraud costs the UK up to £190 billion a year, with 86% committed online.
• Reported incidents of scams and fraud have increased by 41% since before the pandemic.
• Three in ten online scam victims felt depressed as a result of being scammed.
• Paid-for advertisements can target specific geographical locations from anywhere in the world.
• New clause 5 would ensure search engines provide clear messaging about paid-for advertisements.
• New clause 6 proposes a duty on search engines to verify adverts before acceptance.
• Companies must demonstrate authorization by a UK regulatory body for their ads to appear.
• Viagogo, a secondary ticketing website, has been breaching consumer protection laws and selling non-existent tickets.
• STAR (Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers) is responsible for regulating secondary ticketing practices.
• The Bill aims to tackle fraudulent advertising that affects vulnerable individuals.
• Clause 3(5)(b) of the Bill specifies that UK users form one of the target markets for the service, regardless of the number of users.
• New clause 5 raises points about regulating online advertising which are considered outside the scope of this bill and will be addressed via other programs.
• Amendment 45 seeks to align fraudulent advertising provisions for Category 2A services with those for Category 1 services.
• Government amendments 91 to 94 are also being discussed.
• Amendment 44 proposes adding further offences under Part 3 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
• StepChange reported 72 adverts last year for misleading and harmful practices related to debt advice.
• 15% of people searching for StepChange and other debt advice charities online are routed away by deceptive adverts.
• The consumer protection from unfair trading regulations of 2008, part 3, creates offences relating to misleading or aggressive practices.
• Government amendments 91 to 94 make duties on search firms in clause 35 equivalent to those on user-to-user firms in clause 34.
• Amendment 44 seeks to add offences under Part 3 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 but is rejected due to regulatory overlap concerns.
• Clause 36 is ordered to stand part of the Bill without amendment 44.
• Amendments 63 and 64 propose adding safeguards for monitoring and detecting cruelty towards humans and animals in user-to-user services and search services.
• Amendment 60 seeks to bring offences related to animals within the definition of illegal content under the Online Safety Bill.
• Amendment 59 adds specific animal welfare offences from various acts to the list of priority offences in Schedule 7.
• In 2020, there were nearly 500 reports of animal cruelty on social media, more than twice the figure reported for 2019.
• The majority of these incidents appeared on Facebook.
• The hon. Member raises concerns about children being exposed to abusive animal images online.
• Examples given include distressing posts about the Yulin dogmeat festival and beagles used in laboratory experiments.
• Eighty-one per cent of RSPCA frontline officers think more abuse is being caught on camera.
• Nearly half think that more cases are appearing on social media.
• One in five officers said hurting animals to become popular on social media is a main cause of cruelty.
• Videos posted online include a magpie thrown across the road, a dog kicked by a woman, and cockerels forced to fight.
• Footballer Kurt Zouma attacked his cat, leading to tougher penalties for filming animal abuse and posting it on social media.
• Police discovered 182 videos with graphic animal cruelty during an investigation in Burnley.
• The new clause requires OFCOM to consult organisations with expertise in tackling child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA).
• OFCOM must produce a report within six months of the Act being passed.
• The report will examine whether proactive technology should be used in private messaging to identify CSEA content.
• The Online Safety Bill restricts Ofcom's ability to require proactive technology to identify or disrupt online child abuse in private messaging.
• Research shows that 12 million of the 18.4 million child sexual abuse reports made by Facebook in 2019 related to content shared on private channels.
• NSPCC data indicates that girls are victims in 83% of recorded offences involving online grooming.
• Clause 37 requires Ofcom to produce codes of practice on illegal content and fraudulent advertising.
• Women are disproportionately targeted by online abuse on social media platforms.
• The End Violence Against Women Coalition, Glitch, Carnegie UK Trust, NSPCC, 5Rights, Professors Clare McGlynn and Lorna Woods drafted a violence against women and girls code of practice.
• The technology exists to scan data without preventing encryption.
• AI will identify illegal material and transfer it to the National Crime Agency (NCA).
• Ofcom is required to justify the use of proactive technologies under new clause 20.
• Ofcom is required to identify, assess and mitigate CSEA risks.
• Clause 103(1) now uses 'necessary and proportionate' instead of 'persistent and prevalent'.
• Accredited technologies can be updated by Ofcom at any time as needed.
• Codes of practice must cover measures for compliance with relevant duties, including illegal content and safety concerns for children and adults.
• The amendment proposed by Alex Davies-Jones would require Ofcom to prepare draft codes of practice within six months.
• Chris Philp states that £88 million has been provided in last year's spending review for Ofcom to cover this and next financial year (2022-23 and 2023-24).
• After these years, Ofcom will fund itself through raised fees.
• The Bill gives Ofcom legal power to impose fees on regulated companies under clauses 70-76.
• Labour supports clause 42 but urges Ofcom not to delay the process of publishing or amending codes of practice.
• The audio-visual media services directive became UK law in September 2020 and came into force in November 2020, with formal guidance issued by October 2021.
• Labour is concerned about subsection (6) of clause 43 regarding the Secretary of State's powers to prevent disclosure for national security reasons.
• Clause 45 allows service providers to take alternative measures if they comply with recommended measures in codes of practice.
• Violence against women and girls, including online abuse and harassment, is not mentioned in the Bill.
• Ofcom has to designate priority categories of harmful content through secondary legislation.
• Ofcom needs time for consultation exercises which are expected to last 12 months rather than six months.
• The road map document, outlining timelines and plans, will be published before the summer recess.
• Badger Trust submitted OSB61.
• Lego submitted OSB62.
• End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW) submitted OSB63.
• Hacked Off Campaign submitted further material regarding clause 50 as OSB64.
• Office of the City Remembrancer, on behalf of the City of London Corporation and City of London Police, submitted OSB65.
• Juul Labs submitted OSB66.
• Big Brother Watch, ARTICLE 19, Open Rights Group, Index on Censorship, and Global Partners Digital submitted OSB67.
• News Media Association submitted supplementary material as OSB68.