Government plan to regulate online platforms will hit more than 200,000 businesses in the UK

Government support for online regulation will encompass at least five per cent of UK businesses

As expected, the government has announced today that it is "minded to appoint Ofcom as online harms regulator" in its response to the consultation opened in April last year.

The move would potentially hand Ofcom a sweeping licence to regulate online platforms and their content, right down to bloggers' comment sections.

In her response, digital secretary Nicky Morgan indicated that the government had already decided to implement the recommendations of the consultation, lock, stock and barrel. She described the proposals as "a proportionate and strong regulatory regime" that "protects everyone in the UK".

We will give the regulator the powers it [Ofcom] needs to lead the fight for an internet that remains vibrant and open but with the protections, accountability and transparency people deserve

She continued: "We will give the regulator the powers it [Ofcom] needs to lead the fight for an internet that remains vibrant and open but with the protections, accountability and transparency people deserve."

In a statement today, the government said that new laws would require platforms to remove illegal content "quickly" and "minimise the risk of it appearing, with particularly robust action on terrorist content and online child sexual abuse".

It added that Ofcom would have "a clear responsibility to protect users' rights online", including "safeguarding free speech, defending the role of the press... and ensuring businesses do not face disproportionate burdens".

Platforms would be required to "explicitly state what content and behaviour is acceptable on their sites in clear and accessible terms and conditions and enforce these effectively, consistently and transparently".

Ofcom will provide guidance to help businesses understand whether the services they provide would fall into the scope of the regulation.

However, while the regulation would "only apply to companies that allow the sharing of user-generated content", it could affect as many as five per cent of UK businesses, the government admitted.

With 4.3 million companies on the Register at Companies House at the end of December, that means some 215,000 businesses in the UK will be affected by the government's own estimation.

"Ofcom will provide guidance to help businesses understand whether the services they provide would fall into the scope of the regulation. Business-to-business services which pose a low risk to the general public will not be in scope," the government claimed.

It added: "A business simply having a social media presence does not necessarily mean it will be in scope," indicating that it might not be a straightforward process to find out whether an organisation is covered by the planned new regulations, or not.

The proposals drew a sceptical response from privacy and other laws focused on computer and internet law, as well as some media organisations.

Decoded Legal lawyer Neil Brown warned that what is proposed could prove to be "incredibly broad", if reflected in the final legislation. Imposing it on sites hosted outside the UK could end up simply expanding the list of addresses that ISPs are required to block by law.

Alternatively, non-UK websites might just block UK IP addresses in a bid to prevent any legal hassle.

Guido Fawkes, the political website run by blogger Paul Staines, described it as a proposal to end the "free, open internet".

"The proposals will give the state quango Ofcom broad powers to censor the internet. By lumping in the subjective concept of 'cyber-bullying' with genuine crimes, the scope for censorship is incredibly broad," Fawkes claimed.

It continued: "Ofcom will create guidelines to instruct any company with ‘user-generated content' about how to manage online censorship. This includes comments sections on websites like Guido."

Ofcom would also be given a remit to draw up the details of the new internet regulations, taking it away from politicians and handing power to unelected bureaucrats.

"Ofcom will also create rules for content that 'is not illegal but has the potential to cause harm'... the government has confirmed legal speech is in scope for censorship.

"It is often not immediately clear what is illegal and what is legal speech, meaning regulation will force major companies to take an overly-censorious approach in the face of fines, jail times, and website blocks."