The DCMS Sub-Committee on Online Harms and Disinformation today
launches a new inquiry into the
Government’s approach to tackling harmful online content,
outlined in its draft Online Safety Bill.
The draft legislation would compel social media sites and search
engines to remove harmful content such as terrorist content,
child sexual exploitation and abuse and disinformation that
causes individual harm.
The Sub-Committee will investigate how focus has shifted since
the introduction of the Online Safety Strategy Green Paper in
2017, including concerns that the definition of harm is now too
narrow and may fail to address issues such as non-state
intervention in elections, racist abuse and content that
contributes to self-harm and negative body image. It will also
explore key omissions of the draft Bill, such as a general duty
for tech companies to deal with reasonably foreseeable harms, a
focus on transparency and due process mechanisms or regulatory
powers to deal with urgent security threats and how any gaps can
be filled before the Bill is finalised.
Another focus will be on where lessons can be learnt from
international efforts to regulate big tech, such as in France,
Germany and Australia.
DCMS Committee Chair said:
“The Online Safety Bill has been long overdue, and it’s crucial
that the Government now gets it right. As a Sub-Committee we look
forward to conducting scrutiny work prior to legislation being
introduced.
“We’re seeking evidence on what the Bill doesn’t currently
address and how improvements can be made to better serve users
now and in the future.”
“We’re concerned about how the regime will respond to new
dangers, which must be a priority in a fast-changing digital
environment, and that critical issues such online racist abuse
could fall out of scope.”
ENDS
This inquiry by the House of Commons DCMS Sub-Committee is
distinct from any work by the Joint Committee on the Draft Online
Safety Bill, established by the House of Lords and the House of
Commons on 23 July. This inquiry will take a broad approach to
scrutinising the Bill, and may cover areas such as: how the
changing circumstances of its introduction from the Online Safety
Strategy Green Paper and Online Harms White Paper to now have
shaped its development and how it will interlock with other areas
of government policy.
Terms of Reference:
The DCMS Sub-Committee is inviting written submissions here by close
of play Friday 3 September addressing the following areas:
· How has the shifting focus between ‘online harms’ and
‘online safety’ influenced the development of the new regime and
draft Bill?
· Is it necessary to have an explicit definition and
process for determining harm to children and adults in the Online
Safety Bill, and what should it be?
· Does the draft Bill focus enough on the ways tech
companies could be encouraged to consider safety and/or the risk
of harm in platform design and the systems and processes that
they put in place?
· What are the key omissions to the draft Bill, such as a
general safety duty or powers to deal with urgent security
threats, and (how) could they be practically included without
compromising rights such as freedom of expression?
· Are there any contested inclusions, tensions or
contradictions in the draft Bill that need to be more carefully
considered before the final Bill is put to Parliament?
· What are the lessons that the Government should learn
when directly comparing the draft Bill to existing and proposed
legislation around the world?
Further information:
Committee membership:
(Chair) (Conservative, Solihull);
(Labour, Cardiff West);
(Conservative, Winchester); Alex Davies-Jones MP
(Labour, Pontypridd) Clive Efford MP (Labour, Eltham); (Labour, Sunderland Central); Rt Hon
MP (Conservative, Ashford); Rt Hon (Conservative, East Hampshire); (Scottish National Party, Ochil and
South Perthshire); (Conservative, Clacton), Heather
Wheeler (Conservative, South Derbyshire).
