The UK is preparing a comprehensive and controversial Online Safety Act to regulate online content for social media. The government plans to protect internet users from anonymous trolls with the final measure planned to be added to the plan.
Tech companies are on the agenda to give UK social media users more control over who they can interact with. The government says this is necessary, especially to protect against harmful content. Here are the details.
Social media users will have more control
The UK government is taking new measures for the upcoming ‘Online Security Act. Formerly known as the ‘Online Damages Act’, this law has been in the process of being drafted for years. Lawmakers added two new mandates to the bill, citing harassment against English football players, rape and death threats against female politicians, and other threats.
First, the most popular social media platform users are given the authority to block anyone who is not authenticated. The second requires tech companies to provide tools that allow users to choose whether they want to see legitimate but harmful content.
UK digital blogger Nadine Dorries said: “Tech companies have a responsibility to stop anonymous trolls polluting platforms.” She added: “People will now have more control over who can communicate with them, and they will be able to stop the wave of hate being brought to them by fake algorithms.”
The government proposes to block many content
Harassment and racist posts against football players are increasing day by day. Therefore, the Football Federation welcomed this step. In addition, the government has refused to ban online anonymity entirely, as it is thought to be harmful to victims of domestic abuse or to young people.
With another amendment to the Online Security Act, the UK also proposes to impose an obligation to block some of the social media content. These contents include topics such as false vaccination information and promoting eating disorders. The law will be presented to parliament in the coming weeks.
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