Online Safety Bill

Dear constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about freedom of speech and the Online Safety Bill.

I know people feel very strongly about this issue.

As you know, the Online Safety Bill is currently going through Parliament, and recently passed its Second Reading. It will next undergo scrutiny by Committee.

The Bill will establish a duty of care on companies to improve the safety of users, overseen and enforced by Ofcom.

I believe the Bill must tackle legal but harmful content, but I am concerned that the current solution to the balance between free speech and regulation will be satisfactory to no one. The Government has adopted an approach which focuses almost entirely on platforms taking down content while not yet specifying exactly what legal harms they will have to address.

I would prefer to see the Bill tackling the business models, systems and policies that drive the impact of such harms rather than going after individual content. Currently, the business models of most social media companies are based on engagement. The more engagement, the more money made, which rewards controversy and sensationalism. Tackling this would strengthen the Bill while addressing questions about freedom of speech.

I welcome measures to tackle anonymous abuse, such as giving people the option to opt out of interactions with anonymous accounts. I also want to see Ofcom regulating based on risk level rather than size, as some smaller platforms can still have significant and harmful effects.

The Government has said that the Bill will require the largest and riskiest services to set out their policies regarding content that is legal but harmful to adults and enforce these consistently, and that users will have access to mechanisms to appeal decisions.

In my view, the Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to target the dangerous elements of the Internet that have real world consequences. I believe it must put in place a robust framework so that everyone, particularly children and the vulnerable, can use the Internet safely.

However, I do believe the current legislation needs strengthening and I know the Opposition will seek to do that throughout the Bill’s parliamentary journey.

Thank you once again for contacting me about this issue.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Dowd MP