(TheIndependentStar.com) – The United Kingdom has given an ultimatum as it launches a controversial new law aimed at regulating online content, which requires tech companies to police user-generated content or face severe penalties.
Critics warn this could lead to censorship and government overreach, threatening free speech rights.
This year, the UK officially enforced the Online Safety Act, giving tech platforms just three months to comply with sweeping new regulations.
The law requires companies to actively combat illegal content on their platforms, including terrorism, hate speech, fraud, and child sexual abuse material.
Ofcom, Britain’s media watchdog, published codes of practice that tech firms must follow to tackle these “illegal harms.”
The new rules impose “duties of care” on companies to manage harmful content, with steep fines for those who fail to meet the government’s strict safety standards.
Tech platforms now have until March 16, 2025, to comply with the new requirements. This includes conducting “illegal harms risk assessments” and proactively implementing systems to detect and remove prohibited content.
High-risk platforms will be forced to use intrusive technologies like hash-matching to scan for and delete certain materials.
Ofcom Chief Executive Melanie Dawes stated, “We’ll be watching the industry closely to ensure firms match up to the strict safety standards set for them under our first codes and guidance, with further requirements to follow swiftly in the first half of next year.”
The Online Safety Bill is now law and @Ofcom has kick-started its initial consultation ✅
This will enable the UK to bring in codes of practice for all platforms which will tackle illegal content and activity online 🔒
Read more below 🔽 https://t.co/A8FA3OMZnP
— Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (@SciTechgovuk) November 9, 2023
The law gives Ofcom broad powers to punish non-compliant companies. Fines can reach up to 10% of a company’s global annual revenue.
Meanwhile, senior tech executives could even face jail time in extreme cases of repeated violations.
Moreover, the Online Safety Act applies to a wide range of online services, including social media, search engines, messaging apps, gaming platforms, dating sites, and file-sharing services.
Supporters claim the law is needed to make the internet safer, especially for children. But critics argue it gives unelected bureaucrats too much power to decide what content is “harmful.”
There are also concerns that it could censor unpopular opinions or silence political dissent under the guise of combating misinformation.
In addition, the rushed implementation of this law follows pressure to crack down on social media after recent far-right riots in the UK were linked to online disinformation.
Nevertheless, hastily enforcing such broad regulations could have major unintended consequences for free expression and digital privacy.
As the March deadline approaches, tech companies and internet freedom advocates will be closely watching how Ofcom wields its new authority.
Many fear that if left unchallenged, this law could become a blueprint for online censorship in other countries. The battle over the future of free speech on the Internet has only just begun.
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