Source · Select Committees · Petitions Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Rejected
Paragraph: 38
It is appropriate for legal but harmful content to be included in the scope of...
Recommendation
It is appropriate for legal but harmful content to be included in the scope of the Online Safety Bill. The balance of evidence we heard suggests that it is necessary to address this content in the Bill to help protect people from online abuse and promote free speech among groups currently unable to fully express themselves online. However, the lack of clarity in the draft version of the Bill on what content will be covered under this definition is unhelpful. Providing greater clarity on the scope and scale of content the Government expects this definition to capture, and reducing reliance on Ministerial powers to designate such content via secondary legislation at a later date, would be more consistent with respect for freedom of expression. We recommend that the Online Safety Bill should include as comprehensive an indication as possible of what content will be covered under its provisions on content that is harmful to adults or to children in the primary legislation.
Government Response Summary
The government rejects including a comprehensive indication of harmful content in primary legislation, stating they will use secondary legislation to designate priority harmful content after consulting with Ofcom. This approach aims to balance certainty for businesses with the flexibility to adapt to emerging harms.
Paragraph Reference:
38
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
We agree with the Committee’s suggestion that hate crime offences and offences associated with Violence against Women and Girls should be listed as priority illegal offences on the face of the Bill. Government announced this change on 5 February. This includes offences relating to sexual images (i.e revenge and extreme pornography), and harassment and stalking offences, as well as acts intended to stir up racial hatred, religious hatred or hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation and racially or religiously aggravated harrassment and public order offences. This means all services will need to take steps to remove, and prevent users from being exposed to this content. This will result in women and girls being better protected online and proactive measures to tackle illegal abuse on the grounds of the listed characteristics. Beyond the priority offences, all services will need to ensure that they have proportionate systems and processes in place to quickly take down other illegal content directed at women and girls once it has been reported or they become aware of its presence.