Social media platforms will part way with up to £18m if they fail to protect their users particularly children and the vulnerable.
This is according to a new online safety bill that is expected to be forwarded next in the UK, that will give Ofcom the ability to fine companies that fail to adhere to the legislation up to £18m or 10 percent of their global turnover, whichever is higher. These social media platforms will be expected to remove harmful content on their sites in order to avoid fines.
Social media platform compliance
The proposal, however, scaled back on executive responsibilities, with non-compliance of this policy by the executive removed from the proposal. However, there is still a provision in secondary legislation that had a path on how to try executives who failed to comply with the safety bill once it becomes a law.
The online safety bill will also give the Government special power to block social media platforms that don’t comply with the rules from being accessed in the country. The Government also reiterated its commitment to ensuring that the bill is adhered to and promised that, for executives who don’t comply through additional legislation.
The Government also confirmed that user protection in social media platforms was extended to private messaging and private groups. This, however, is expected to face resistance from big tech companies such as Facebook and Apple who encrypt their data and ensure that even they hide the content even from the firms themselves.
The bill, prior to publishing, received praises from Home Secretary Priti Patel who argued that it would create a new age of accountability on these social media platforms.
The legislation will only affect social media platforms that have a presence in the UK and that enables user-generated content. It is also expected to have tougher responsibilities for well established social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, Twitter and Instagram, due to their high number of users in the country and the risk of having the prohibited content being uploaded regularly.
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