The Online Safety Bill Update
The online harms white paper was published a couple of years ago and unfortunately with other priorities such as the pandemic, the review and presentation to parliament to create the new Online Safety Bill was significantly delayed. Charities and online safety experts have been pushing for this to progress and now finally it looks like there is progress planned.
Proposed new laws will see tech firms having to prevent publication of harmful content and if they don’t, they could face substantial fines. This is a welcome step forward for campaigners who have felt that Government have stalled too much in the last couple of years.
Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries supported this with a statement, “We are listening to MPs, charities and campaigners who have wanted us to strengthen the legislation, and these changes mean we will be able to bring the full weight of the law against those who use the internet as a weapon to ruin people’s lives and do so quicker and more effectively.”
Further information about the online harms white paper can be found on the UK Gov website here.
The Friendly WiFi safe certification standard very much supports the journey of online safety, protects kids and families and the vulnerable. This is supported by the great brands, venues, cities and transport networks that we work with who proactively have their WiFi services certified to show that it is safe and protects users from exposure to indecent material. In addition, tech companies who provide technology services for WiFi to be provided show their advocacy of online safety by being a Friendly WiFi Approved Provider or Partner – keeping safety high on the agenda where public WiFi is present wouldn’t be possible without our clients and tech companies.
