Technology firms will be required to protect internet users from state-sponsored disinformation that threatens UK society and democracy under changes to a landmark online safety bill.
The legislation will require social media platforms, video streaming services and search engines to take action to minimize people’s exposure to foreign-backed disinformation aimed at interfering in the UK. Such content would include, for example, incidents such as the Ben Wallace video, which was mocked earlier this year by Russian imposters posing as the Ukrainian prime minister.
Culture Minister Nadine Doris said the invasion of Ukraine highlighted Russia’s willingness to use social media to spread lies and disinformation.
“We cannot allow foreign countries or their stooges to use the Internet to wage unhindered online hostile warfare,” she said. “That’s why we’re strengthening our new internet safety protections to make sure social media companies identify and stamp out state-sponsored disinformation.”
A Russian prankster duo named Vovan and Lexus claimed responsibility for the conversation with Wallace, which took place in March. The two were suspected of having ties to Russian security services, which they denied. A clip of the conversation was posted on YouTube, but has since been taken down by the Google-owned video service.
The amendment will be added to the upcoming national security bill, which is going through parliamentary scrutiny by a committee of MPs next week. As it stands, the online safety bill, which is expected to become law by the end of the year, already requires tech companies to take action against state-sponsored misinformation that harms people — such as death threats.
“Disinformation is often promoted by multiple fake identities with the aim of getting real users to unwittingly ‘share’ it,” said Security Minister Damian Hinds. “We need the big online platforms to do more to identify and disrupt this kind of coordinated inauthentic behavior.” That is the purpose of this proposed change in the law.
Sign up for First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am BST
The amendment would add a new crime of misinformation to the bill’s list of priority crimes that tech firms must proactively prevent. These include terrorism, child sexual abuse and fraud. Breaches of the law will be punished by communications regulator Ofcom with fines of up to £18 million, or 10% of a company’s global turnover, which could reach billions of pounds for some of the US-based tech giants.
The government amendment was announced as the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee proposed changes to the bill that would limit the influence of the culture secretary in shaping new rules for tech firms. The changes proposed by the committee remove the Secretary of State’s right to direct or block Ofcom in issuing codes of practice, including to deal with terrorist and child sexual exploitation content, before Parliament considers them.
“A free media depends on us ensuring that the regulator is free from the threat of day-to-day interference by the executive,” said Julian Knight MP, Conservative committee chair. “Government will still play an important role in setting the course, but Ofcom should not be constantly looking over its shoulder, responding to the whims of a back-seat driving secretary of state.”
A DCMS spokesman said: “Technology changes rapidly and while the Bill will preserve Ofcom’s independence, it gives democratically elected governments and Parliament the appropriate oversight to deal with any matters that fall outside Ofcom’s remit in the future.”
Add Comment