“Given the risks online, it makes sense that we ensure similar basic protections for the digital age. If we don’t act, we risk compromising the well-being of generations of children with the unchecked power of algorithms,” said Nadine Dorries, UK minister for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The bill was published in May 2021 and has since received several revisions, the main goal of which is to make social media companies, search engines, and other platforms responsive to certain types of problematic content (not just illegal), which can also harm users, such as trolling.
The proposal also states that tech companies will face fines of up to 10% of their global annual turnover, but will still have to go through several filters before being approved. From TechCrunch they point out that since the government has a majority in the House of Commons, the regulation could become law later this year.
DCMS agreed to adopt 66 recommendations for the bill introduced by the committee last year. “I am very pleased to see that the government has adopted so many of our recommendations, ensuring that we truly make the UK the safest place to be online. The era of self-regulation for Big Tech is over,” said Damian Collins, chairman of the committee.
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