A parliamentary committee has called on ministers to “change
course” on legislation governing the regulation of social media,
warning that it risks undermining the independence of regulator
Ofcom and removing protections around freedom of speech.
The House of Lords Select Committee on Communications and Digital
wrote to Culture Secretary to recommend changes to
key clauses of the Online Safety Bill.
The committee said there was
no justification for giving the Government wide-ranging powers to
“direct” Ofcom to change its codes of practice to reflect the
views of the Secretary of State. Their letter highlighted
warnings that the change would see the UK depart from “the
cornerstone of media regulation in western Europe, that there is
an independent regulator and that the executive does not
interfere”.
It also recommended reinstating a requirement for social media
platforms to carry out risk assessments of the possible impact of
their content on adults, similar to those which will be
undertaken in relation to child users of services.
The committee recommended:
-
Removing Clause 39 (1)(a) of the Bill, which
gives the Culture Secretary powers to direct Ofcom on the
development of its codes of practice. The letter warned that
this would provide “needlessly expansive powers to undermine
Ofcom’s independence by interfering with the actual
implementation of the online safety regime”. It dismissed a
proposed Government amendment, which sets out a list of grounds
for issuing a direction, as “cosmetic and inadequate”.
-
Amending provisions in Clause 39 which would
allow the Culture Secretary repeatedly to demand modification
to draft codes of practice, in a way which could result in
“lengthy or infinite delay” without parliamentary oversight.
The committee said it was “troubling” that the measure could
potentially mire Ofcom in an indefinite private process of
“ping-pong” with ministers before codes are laid before
Parliament.
-
The deletion of Clause 157 (1)(a) of the Bill,
which gives the Culture Secretary powers to issue guidance to
Ofcom on the exercise of its functions, to which the regulator
must have regard. The committee said the proposed powers were
“unnecessary and unconstrained” and could amount to needless
intrusion into Ofcom’s day-to-day work.
-
The reinstatement of requirements for social media
platforms to carry out risk assessments for services
for adults, to address concerns about online safety,
transparency and freedom of expression. The committee
acknowledged the Government’s objectives in removing ‘legal but
harmful to adults’ provisions from the Bill. However, it said
that maintaining adult risk assessments would support those
objectives by requiring platforms to be transparent about how
they manage the tension between protecting free speech and
limiting access to content through user empowerment tools.
The letter also restated the Committee’s recommendation – set out
in its 2021 report Digital Regulation: Joined-Up and
Accountable – for the creation of a joint committee of both
Houses of Parliament to scrutinise digital regulation.
Chair’s comment:
Baroness Stowell said:
“The Government’s nonchalant approach to undermining Ofcom’s
independence is worrying. We took evidence from ministers about
this on 25 January and remain unconvinced that many of the
wide-ranging powers are necessary or justified.
“The new online safety regime is novel and will require ongoing
oversight. But this needs to happen
without diminishing Ofcom’s independence from Government, which
is key to maintaining public trust.
“It is one thing for Ofcom to receive strategic direction and
some guidance from Government where needed – and we support this.
It is quite another to jeopardise the regulator’s independence on
multiple fronts. The best solution is to strengthen
Parliament’s role, not the Government’s.
“I am also troubled by the removal of requirements on social
media platforms to assess the risk posed to adults using their
services. Platforms must be required to provide transparency over
how they will manage the tension between protecting free speech
and limiting access to content.
“I urge ministers to take these concerns on board and amend the
Bill accordingly as it makes its way through the Lords.”
