Recommendation 13

HM Government Not Addressed

The Online Safety Bill was published in draft on 12 May, and will be subject to pre- legislative scrutiny in this session. This is a major milestone in the development of a new regulatory framework which will hold platforms to account on tackling harmful content and behaviours online. We want to make sure we take the time to get the legislation right, which is why we have laid the Bill in draft for pre-legislative scrutiny. The Online Safety Bill will place significant obligations on companies to address content that is not illegal but is harmful to children or to adults. Where there is harmful content related to body image that risks significant adverse physical or psychological impact, the regulatory framework will require platforms to protect children from that content. High-risk, high-reach services (known as category 1 services) such as the largest social media companies will also need to address this content when accessed by adults. Companies that operate services that are likely to be accessed by children and category 1 services will have duties to assess the level of risks presented by content that is harmful to children and content that is harmful to adults respectively on those services. This will include looking at the nature and severity of the harm that might be suffered. In both cases companies will have to assess the risk to children or adults from a range of harms set out in secondary legislation. They will also have to assess the risks from other types of harmful content and, if they find it, notify the regulator. While we recognise that most children have a positive experience online, the impact of harmful content and activity online can be particularly damaging for children and there are growing concerns about the potential impact on their mental health and wellbeing. That is why protecting children is at the heart of the government’s online safety legislation and the strongest protections will be for children. Companies which are likely to be accessed by children will have a duty in legislation to undertake regular ‘child risk assessments’. They will be required to assess the nature and level of risk of their service specifically for children, identify and implement proportionate mitigations to protect children, and monitor these for effectiveness. Child risk assessments will assess the risk for priority harms that the government will set out in secondary legislation and any other types of harm present or at risk of arising to children. Companies that operate category 1 services will be required to set out how, for those services, they will treat each type of content that is harmful to adults (both that listed in secondary legislation and other harmful content they identify in their risk assessments) in their terms of service. They will be required to make these terms of service both clear and accessible and to apply them consistently. We are already working closely with Ofcom to ensure that the implementation period that will be necessary following passage of the legislation is as short as possible, whilst ensuring the required preparations are completed effectively. We expect companies to take steps now to improve safety, and not wait for the legislation to come into force before acting. Alongside the Online Safety Bill, we are also taking steps to educate and empower users to make more informed and safer choices online. The Media Literacy Strategy will promote media literacy as a complementary tool to the new regulatory regime, supporting users with the skills and knowledge they need to stay safe online, such as critical thinking skills, whilst making the most of what the internet has to offer. The Strategy will be published later this year.