{"id":21069,"date":"2022-02-05T06:22:09","date_gmt":"2022-02-05T11:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=21069"},"modified":"2022-02-05T06:22:09","modified_gmt":"2022-02-05T11:22:09","slug":"harmful-messaging-offences-added-to-online-safety-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2022\/02\/05\/harmful-messaging-offences-added-to-online-safety-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Harmful messaging offences added to online safety bill"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sending “genuinely threatening” or “knowingly false” messages are among new criminal offences being added to proposed online safety laws.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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If passed, the government’s online safety bill could see social networks fined 10% of their global turnover if they fail to remove harmful content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The changes mean they will also have to proactively remove harmful content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The bill also covers revenge porn, human trafficking, extremism and promoting suicide online.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It already stated that websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, that host user-generated content would have to swiftly remove illegal content once it was reported to them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Now they will also have to put in place proactive measures to stop illegal activity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The issue has become a talking point recently with the\u00a0racist abuse of footballers<\/a>, revenge porn and\u00a0cyberflashing<\/a>, and\u00a0Covid disinformation<\/a>\u00a0being highlighted as key safety concerns for social media companies to address.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries urged online platforms to start making the changes now before the bill comes into force.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said: “They can start doing what they need to do to remove those harmful algorithms and to remove much of the damage that they do, particularly to young people and to society as a whole.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The minister added the move would “hold the feet to the fire” of social media companies that have “damaged lives” and hold them to account for the first time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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