After the worst riots in 13 years, the UK may further strengthen the Online Safety Act
2024-08-11
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According to CCTV News, the National Police Chiefs' Committee of the United Kingdom announced on August 9 local time that since protests against the government's immigration policy broke out in many parts of the UK and large-scale riots broke out in some areas, 741 people have been arrested, of which 302 have been charged for participating in violent riots. In addition, the police have identified hundreds of suspects and the arrests will "continue for several months."
Protesters hold placards during a demonstration in Crawley, England, on August 9, 2024, local time. Visual China Photo
On July 29, a knife attack occurred in Southport, Merseyside, northwest England, in which a 17-year-old male suspect broke into a primary school dance class and killed three children and injured several others. Since then, false information about the suspect being an immigrant or a Muslim has spread online. Although the British police quickly "refuted the rumor" and pointed out that the suspect was born in the UK, the protests of anti-immigrant demonstrators quickly turned into violent riots. The British government also believes that false information on the Internet has played a role in "fueling" the largest riots in the UK in 13 years.
According to Bloomberg on August 9, British Prime Minister Starmer warned on the same day that online content "is not a place outside the law", while admitting that after the recent riots, the government "will have to" examine social platforms more broadly.
Protesters hold placards during a demonstration in London, England, on August 7, 2024, local time. Visual China Photo
According to people familiar with the matter, British officials are discussing whether to review parts of the Online Safety Act. The law was passed in the UK in 2023 and will come into effect in 2025. The bill gives online regulators the power to impose huge fines and, in extreme cases, ban social media platforms that do not comply with the regulations. But some politicians believe that the current legislation still does not go far enough.
Bloomberg reported that the previous British government had previously "watered down" the bill, removing wording about regulating "lawful but harmful" content to allay concerns among free speech campaigners.
According to a report by the Financial Times on the 9th, the British government is currently considering reintroducing this controversial clause to force Internet companies to delete "legal but harmful" content. Officials said that discussions on restarting the proposal had been held in the past few days, but they stressed that no decision had been made yet.
Currently, the British government's top priority is to prevent riots from breaking out again this weekend. Starmer said at the Metropolitan Police on the 9th that the police must remain "highly vigilant" to prevent riots from breaking out again.
The Paper reporter Nan Boyi
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