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Online Safety Bill - Update for Report Stage
07 July 2022
Type
Written Ministerial Statement
Department
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
At a Glance
Issue Summary
The statement outlines updates and amendments to the Online Safety Bill to enhance online safety while maintaining regulatory balance.
Action Requested
The Government is proposing various amendments including 'must carry' requirements for news publisher content, changes to illegal safety duties, enhanced powers for Ofcom against child exploitation, clearer exemptions for license holders, bridging with the National Security Bill, and measures to address emerging risky services. The statement also commits to further research and conferring deferred power on the Secretary of State to apply adult safety duties to small high-risk services.
Key Facts
- Government is tabling amendments to strengthen the Online Safety Bill.
- Temporary 'must carry' requirements for platforms to carry recognised news publisher content until an appeal takes place.
- Changes to illegal safety duties to address cross-platform harms and breadcrumbing.
- Providing Ofcom with powers to tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse online more effectively.
- Strengthening harmful and false communications offences by including partial exemptions for certain license holders.
- Introducing a list of companies close to Category 1 thresholds to identify emerging risky services early.
- Deferred power given to the Secretary of State to apply adult safety duties to small but high-risk services based on evidence from Ofcom's report.
- Excluding sanctioned entities like RT from protections for recognised news publishers' content.
- Committing to legislate a new offence of epilepsy trolling at an early stage in the Bill.
- Clarifying Secretary of State’s power of direction on codes of practice with defined reasons.
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