The UK Government has come under fire for “watering down” the Online Safety Bill in its latest review.
The bill has been a discussion point since the death of Molly Russell, who took her own life as a result of being subject to harmful online content.
This morning, the Government announced that it planned to remove the ‘legal but harmful’ clause from the bill after it was implied that it was detrimental to free speech.
A member of the Free Speech Union, who wished to remain anonymous, agreed, warning that the clause impeded on free speech. He said: “Our concern is when it comes to issues around online free speech and freedom of expression, the safety it would have given a teenager like Molly would then also leak over to other issues, in terms of public culture, debate and arguments.”
The bill, which is set to become law by Spring 2023, was taken off the parliament timetable due to UK leadership turmoil.
Michelle Donelan, UK Culture Secretary, did a complete u-turn after multiple delays to the bill, saying: “The content that Molly Russell saw will not be allowed as a result of this bill. And there will no longer be cases like that coming forward because we’re preventing that from happening, and I want to be really clear on that”.
Rachel Talbot, a member of the NSPCC’s ‘Young People’s Board for Change, spoke of the dangers young people would face if further delays were made to the bill, saying that it needs to be ‘priority’ for the government.
She said: “Seeing the online safety bill as an infringement on [free speech] rights are missing the point of the bill. It will absolutely put some restrictions on what content can and cannot be posted on social media… the outcome of that in the fact that young people across the UK will no longer be subjected to harmful content is far more important”.
It is unclear on what the outcome of the changes to the bill will be and whether it will be finalised before spring next year, but all eyes are on Donelan.
