New Online Safety Laws to be introduced in UK to Combat the Harmful Aspects of Social Media
The rise of social media has brought with it a wealth of
benefits, forging and rekindling connections new and old and even helping
businesses and other ventures find success. That being said the online world is
not without its dangers, particularly where it pertains to children. These were
recently brought to light once again as part of the Internet Safety Strategy consultation, published on
Sunday 20th May, prompting UK Digital Secretary Matt Hancock to announce that new online safety laws
will soon be created and introduced in a bid to tackle the “Wild West elements”
of the internet and ultimately ensure that the UK becomes “the safest place in
the world to be online”.
“Digital technology is overwhelmingly a force for good
across the world and we must always champion innovation and change for the
better,” said Mr Hancock during his announcement. “At the same time I have been
clear that we have to address the Wild West elements of the Internet through
legislation, in a way that supports innovation. We strongly support technology
companies to start up and grow, and we want to work with them to keep our
citizens safe.
“People increasingly live their lives through online
platforms so it’s more important than ever that people are safe and parents can
have confidence they can keep their children from harm,” he continued, “The
measures we’re taking forward today will help make sure children are protected
online and balance the need for safety with the great freedoms the internet
brings just as we have to strike this balance offline.”
While it is unclear as yet what form this new legislation
will take, or when exactly it will be introduced, the UK Government says you
can rest assured it is coming. The specifics are to be developed over the
coming months/years in collaboration with tech companies, children’s charities
and other unspecified stakeholders, with the UK Government taking the lead. For
now the DCMS and Home Office will be working with other government departments
to create a white paper, to be published later this year, which will “set out
legislation to be brought forward that tackles a range of both legal and
illegal harms”.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid said of the Government’s ongoing efforts,
“Criminals are using the internet to further their exploitation and abuse of
children, while terrorists are abusing these platforms to recruit people and
incite atrocities. We need to protect our communities from these heinous crimes
and vile propaganda and that is why this Government has been taking the lead on
this issue.
“But more needs to be done and this is why we will continue
to work with the companies and the public to do everything we can to stop the
misuse of these platforms. Only by working together can we defeat those who
seek to do us harm.”
Sam
is an aspiring novelist with a passion for fantasy and crime thrillers.
Currently working as Editor of Social Songbird, he hopes to one day drop that
'aspiring' prefix. Follow him @Songbird_Sam
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New Online Safety Laws to be introduced in UK to Combat the Harmful Aspects of Social Media
Reviewed by Unknown
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Monday, May 21, 2018
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Monday, May 21, 2018
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