Online Safety Bill amendment to shield UK internet users from state-backed disinformation
The proposed change comes in part as a response to Russia's disinformation campaigns following the invasion of Ukraine
In a proposed amendment to the upcoming Online Safety Bill owners of social media networks and other digital platforms would be required to take proactive and preventative action against any state-sponsored misinformation that threatens the UK.
The amendment links the National Security Bill to the Online Safety Bill [pdf] by including a new Foreign Interference Offence on the list of priority offences within the new internet safety rules. Terrorism, child sex abuse and fraud offences are already listed.
According to the government, the amendment will require platforms to carry out risk assessments for content that would constitute a Foreign Interference offence. Moreover, they will be required to have systems and processes in place to mitigate the chances of users encountering such content, based on codes of practice from communications regulator Ofcom.
The law will apply to social networking sites, search engines and video streaming services, mandating them to limit the amount of 'hostile online warfare' that people are exposed to.
Ofcom could impose penalties of up to £18 million or 10% of a company's worldwide turnover for violations of the act.
In its current form, the Online Safety Bill, which is anticipated to pass into law by the end of the year, already requires digital platforms to respond to state-sponsored disinformation that endangers people, such as threats to kill, but this amendment lowers the bar.
The amendment comes in part as a response to Russia's disinformation campaigns following its invasion of Ukraine.
Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, said that Ukraine's invasion has shown Russia's inclination towards utilise social media to promote falsehoods and misinformation.
"The invasion of Ukraine has yet again shown how readily Russia can and will weaponise social media to spread disinformation and lies about its barbaric actions, often targeting the very victims of its aggression," Dorries said.
"We cannot allow foreign states or their puppets to use the internet to conduct hostile online warfare unimpeded."
She added that the government is strengthening new internet safety laws to ensure that social media companies detect and eliminate misinformation sponsored by the foreign states.
Also this week, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee of the UK House of Commons proposed changes to the Online Safety Bill that would restrict the Secretary of State's ability to interfere in the operations of the independent regulator Ofcom.
The committee's proposed changes eliminate the Secretary of State's authority to instruct or prevent Ofcom from providing service providers with codes of conduct, including those addressing the handling of terrorist and child sex material, before parliament reviews them.
"A free media depends on ensuring the regulator is free from the threat of day-to-day interference from the executive," asserted DCMS Committee chair Julian Knight MP.
A DCMS spokesperson said: "Technology is changing rapidly and while the bill will maintain Ofcom's independence it gives democratically elected governments and parliament appropriate oversight to address any issues that fall outside Ofcom's remit in the future."