Britain tempers controversial plans to make Big Tech remove harmful content - CNBC

LONDON — Social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok and Twitter will nary longer beryllium obliged to instrumentality down "legal but harmful" contented nether revisions to the U.K.'s projected authorities for online safety.

The Online Safety Bill, which aims to modulate the internet, volition beryllium revised to region the arguable but captious measure, British lawmakers announced Monday.

The authorities said the amendment would assistance sphere escaped code and springiness radical greater power implicit what they spot online.

However, critics person described the determination arsenic a "major weakening" of the bill, which risks undermining the accountability of tech companies.

The erstwhile proposals would person tasked tech giants with preventing radical from seeing ineligible but harmful content, specified arsenic self-harm, termination and abusive posts online.

Under the revisions — which the authorities dubbed a "consumer-friendly 'triple shield'" — the onus for contented enactment volition alternatively displacement to net users, with tech companies alternatively required to present a strategy that allows radical to filter retired harmful contented they bash not privation to see.

Crucially, though, firms volition inactive request to support children and region contented that is amerciable oregon prohibited successful their presumption of service.

U.K. Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said the caller plans would guarantee that nary "tech firms oregon aboriginal authorities could usage the laws arsenic licence to censor morganatic views."

"Today's announcement refocuses the Online Safety Bill connected its archetypal aims: the pressing request to support children and tackle transgression enactment online portion preserving escaped speech, ensuring tech firms are accountable to their users, and empowering adults to marque much informed choices astir the platforms they use," the authorities said successful a statement.

The absorption Labour enactment said the amendment was a "major weakening" of the bill, however, with the imaginable to substance misinformation and conspiracy theories.

"Replacing the prevention of harm with an accent connected escaped code undermines the precise intent of this bill, and volition embolden abusers, COVID deniers, hoaxers, who volition consciousness encouraged to thrive online," Shadow Culture Secretary Lucy Powell said.

Meantime, termination hazard foundation radical Samaritans said accrued idiosyncratic controls should not regenerate tech institution accountability.

"Increasing the controls that radical person is nary replacement for holding sites to relationship done the instrumentality and this feels precise overmuch similar the authorities snatching decision from the jaws of victory," Julie Bentley, main enforcement of Samaritans, said.

Monday's announcement is the latest iteration of the U.K.'s expansive Online Safety Bill, which besides includes guidelines connected identity verification tools and new transgression offences to tackle fraud and revenge porn.

It follows months of campaigning by escaped code advocates and online protections groups. Meantime, Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter has thrown online contented moderation into renewed focus.

The proposals are present acceptable to spell backmost to the British Parliament adjacent week, earlier being intended to go instrumentality earlier adjacent summer.

However, commentators accidental further honing of the measure is required to guarantee gaps are addressed earlier then.

"The devil volition beryllium successful the detail. There is simply a hazard that Ofcom oversight of societal media presumption and conditions, and requirements astir 'consistency,' could promote over-zealous removals," Matthew Lesh, caput of nationalist argumentation astatine escaped marketplace deliberation vessel the Institute of Economic Affairs, said.

Communications and media regulator Ofcom volition beryllium liable for overmuch of the enforcement of the caller law, and volition beryllium capable to good companies up to 10% of their worldwide gross for non-compliance.

"There are besides different issues that the authorities has not addressed," Lesh continued. "The requirements to region contented that firms are 'reasonably apt to infer' is amerciable sets an highly debased threshold and risks preemptive automated censorship."