Facebook, Twitter face British fines if fail on harmful content

[snoop1130]

Facebook, Twitter face British fines if fail on harmful content

 

FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed Facebook dislike button is seen in front of a displayed Twitter logo in this illustration taken October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Facebook, Twitter and TikTok face fines of up to 10% of turnover if they fail to remove and limit the spread of illegal content under laws proposed by Britain on Tuesday.

 

Tech platforms will also need to do more to protect children from being exposed to grooming, bullying and pornography, the government said, to ensure the safety of children online.

 

"We are entering a new age of accountability for tech to protect children and vulnerable users, to restore trust in this industry, and to enshrine in law safeguards for free speech," Britain's Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said.

 

Governments globally are wrestling over measures to better control illegal or dangerous content on social media, with the European Union set to unveil its own package on Tuesday.

 

Britain's new rules, which will be introduced in legislation next year, could lead to sites which break the rules being blocked and senior managers held liable for content.

 

Popular platforms will be required to have clear policies for content that, while not illegal, could cause harm such as disseminating misinformation about COVID vaccines.

 

Dowden said the framework would give large digital businesses "robust rules" to follow.

 

Facebook and Google said in February they would work with the government on the regulations. Both companies said they took safety extremely seriously and they had already changed their policies and operations to better tackle the issue.

 

British media regulator Ofcom will be given the power to fine companies up to 18 million pounds ($24 million) or 10% of global turnover, whichever is higher, for breaking the rules.

 

It will also be able to block non-compliant services from being accessed in Britain. 

 

Online journalism and reader comments on news publishers' websites will be exempt to safeguard freedom of expression.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-12-15

 

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[Tug]

I’d love to see something like this in America especially for willful lying and political bs

[riclag]

I don't have any of this ! But I see how they have hooked many  into believing that this social platform was like a global commune of sorts!

Now it appears their censorship of free speech will be their demise! Good!

[welovesundaysatspace]

1 hour ago, riclag said:

Now it appears their censorship of free speech will be their demise! Good!

If you consider child grooming, bullying and pornography “free speech” then you really need to check your moral compass. 

[welovesundaysatspace]

2 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Facebook, Twitter face British fines if fail on harmful content

One can only hope that harmful content will cover disinformation, conspiracy theories and lies. 

[riclag]

28 minutes ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

If you consider child grooming, bullying and pornography “free speech” then you really need to check your moral compass. 

I don''t consider  those as  actions relating to  free speech !( child grooming ).

 I 'm more concerned with sharing human rights, such as opinions and ideas in a verbal sense like in forums,such as those mentioned , without fear of retaliation!!!!!! 

 

Edited December 15, 2020 by riclag

[welovesundaysatspace]

1 hour ago, riclag said:

I 'm more concerned with sharing human rights, such as opinions and ideas in a verbal sense

The article is explicitly referring to harmful and illegal content (Examples given were child grooming, bullying and pornography), so your concern seems to be offtopic.

 

 

[chilli42]

I am all for protecting vulnerable groups such as children etc.  This must be done. However, if content is to be screened to comply with the commonly accepted narrative, those alternative views will simply shift to some other platform.  Nothing to be gained by this particular approach.  The government needs to think bigger than this.

[TopDeadSenter]

20 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Tech platforms will also need to do more to protect children from being exposed to grooming, bullying and pornography, the government said, to ensure the safety of children online.

I have no love for big tech's moral stance. But it was not social media giants that failed to protect our children from being abused in industrial numbers. It was political correctness in the political class and media that caused that. And sad to say it has only got worse.

 What I suspect the tech giants have in mind is more one sided political censorship a la the CCP or Soviet Union. Far left writings = good and correct think, gets a big tick. Rational, logic based arguments that state the obvious and challenge the ill thought out but oh so PC comments will be censored. Like now, but maybe even worse. If that is possible 

[placeholder]

13 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I have no love for big tech's moral stance. But it was not social media giants that failed to protect our children from being abused in industrial numbers. It was political correctness in the political class and media that caused that. And sad to say it has only got worse.

 What I suspect the tech giants have in mind is more one sided political censorship a la the CCP or Soviet Union. Far left writings = good and correct think, gets a big tick. Rational, logic based arguments that state the obvious and challenge the ill thought out but oh so PC comments will be censored. Like now, but maybe even worse. If that is possible 

You mean like alleging massive fraud in the latest elections. This is your idea of rationality?

[Sujo]

11 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I have no love for big tech's moral stance. But it was not social media giants that failed to protect our children from being abused in industrial numbers. It was political correctness in the political class and media that caused that. And sad to say it has only got worse.

 What I suspect the tech giants have in mind is more one sided political censorship a la the CCP or Soviet Union. Far left writings = good and correct think, gets a big tick. Rational, logic based arguments that state the obvious and challenge the ill thought out but oh so PC comments will be censored. Like now, but maybe even worse. If that is possible 

And you would be wrong. Prove comments are correct and legal and they wont be removed.

 

In what world is hate speech and outright lies and drliberate misinformation, which may incite hatred ok.

 

This is long overdue. Leave the alternative facts followers to dwell in the dark web.