Sorcha Eastwood: ‘US talks must not trade away our online safety to Trump and Musk’
Every parent knows the internet can be a dark, dangerous place for children. We’ve seen the worst of it — from tragic deaths, horrific abuse, radicalisation, and the rise in misogyny and violence levied against women and girls. Algorithms aren’t neutral. They’re designed to maximise engagement, even if it means driving users toward hate and […]
Taking down illegal content online would not have been enough to stop the riots
The UK is still recovering from the fallout of the devastating attack in Southport and racist riots which followed. Disinformation about the identity of the Southport attacker, racist narratives and incitement to violence were being amplified on social media throughout the riots, and horrendous actions including people attempting to burn down a hotel housing asylum seekers. […]
Lord Kamall: ‘The anti-business, illiberal Online Safety Act could undermine the UK’s global tech leader ambitions’
A nation that projects itself as a tech leader at the AI Safety Summit should avoid simultaneously casting a shadow of doubt over its commitment to digital trust and security.
The government can no longer ignore the dangers of Fake News
The widely debated Online Safety Bill might soon be enacted into UK law. With the House of Lords expected to vote on and push through the Bill this January, its passing will mark a pivotal step in the future of internet governance. Among its many proposals to safeguard the safety of UK citizens online, online […]
Monitoring ‘legal but harmful’ content in the Online Safety Bill: why is it so difficult?
What the debate around content moderation gets wrong
Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has thrust content moderation back into the spotlight. From buying blue ticks for $8, reinstating the accounts of controversial figures to promising a ‘moderation council’ of diverse voices, the self-proclaimed ‘free speech absolutist’ wants to shake up the platform. There are concerns about what this means for bots, abuse and […]
Davies-Jones rejects claims online safety bill is ‘world leading’
In the first day of debating the online safety bill, shadow digital minister Alex Davies-Jones rejected government claims that the bill was “world leading”, telling MPs that this description was “far from the truth’. Under-Secretary Damian Collins welcomed the bill which will ensure online companies “put in the tin” what they “put on the label” […]
Online safety bill could impose ‘unprecedented’ censorship powers
A new briefing paper by free market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) says the government’s flagship online safety bill will have a significant impact on free speech, privacy and innovation. The paper highlights the broad scope, complexity and reach of the bill, at over 255 pages, an increase of 110 pages since […]
The Online Safety Bill’s age verification mandates won’t make the internet safer
Regulating the internet is a behemoth challenge, and Nadine Dorries thinks she has the solution. The multi-faceted Online Safety Bill is set to mandate age verification checks for adult content online in order to protect children, among many other radical news measures. It’s a well-intentioned but woefully planned move which will do much more harm […]
Poorly defined ‘media exemptions’ hamper the online safety bill’s potential
Last weekend a fascist terrorist opened fire in a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, killing 10 people and injuring three others. Following the modus operandi of numerous previous terrorists, the killer livestreamed the attack online and published a manifesto. Twitch, the Amazon-owned platform used by the killer to broadcast his murderous rampage, took down the […]
