Tech bosses could face jail after UK govt backs down over online harm

[January 17, 2023]  By Andrew MacAskill

LONDON (Reuters) -Tech bosses could be jailed if their platforms deliberately fail to protect children from online harm after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government agreed a deal with lawmakers to avoid the prospect of a first parliamentary defeat.

Sunak faced losing a vote in the House of Commons on Tuesday after 50 Conservative lawmakers and the main opposition party said they would support an amendment designed to toughen the Online Safety Bill.

The rebels had tabled an amendment proposing jail sentences of up to two years for tech bosses for failing to protect children from content such as child abuse and self-harm.

Michelle Donelan, the culture and digital minister, said in a written statement to parliament that the government agreed to changes to the legislation so executives could be jailed if they "consent or connive" to ignoring the new rules.
 

"This amendment will not affect those who have acted in good faith," she said. But it would provide "additional teeth to deliver change and ensure that people are held to account if they fail to properly protect children".

This is the third time that Sunak, who has a majority of 67, has backed down in the face of similar revolts in parliament since he took office in October. He previously gave in after rebellions in his party on housing targets and restrictions on onshore wind farms.

People take a selfie next to the bank of the River Thames, with the City of London financial district in the background, in London, Britain, January 2, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo

Britain, like the European Union and other countries, has been grappling to protect social media users, and in particular children, from harmful content without damaging free speech.

The bill, which is being watched closely by tech executives in the United States, was designed to create one of the toughest online regimes for tech companies in the world, but it was watered down in November, when the government removed the requirement to stop "legal but harmful content".

After days of negotiations between the government and the lawmakers, the two sides reached an agreement with ministers promising to introduce an amendment along similar lines. The rebels will now withdraw their amendment.

Bill Cash, a veteran Conservative lawmaker and one of rebels, told the BBC the agreement with ministers was a "huge step forward" and said that senior managers in the sector "will not want to run the risk of going to jail".

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskillEditing by Bernadette Baum)

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