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3 New Online Safety Laws Aim to Shield Users from Harmful Content

The Online Safety Bill, designed to regulate internet content and enhance online safety, is set to undergo significant amendments that will impact how social media platforms handle harmful material. Controversial measures that would have compelled tech giants to remove legal but harmful content from their platforms are being axed from the bill.

Under the previous version of the bill, providers of regulated user-to-user services or search services would have been obligated to address both illegal and other harmful content present on their platforms. However, the latest amendments to the bill remove the duties on the largest service providers in relation to content that is not illegal but could be harmful to adults. 

While social media companies will still face fines of up to 10% of annual turnover if they fail to implement policies to tackle racist or homophobic content on their platforms, the previous requirements to tackle legal but harmful material accessed by adults have been replaced.

The ‘triple shield’ provisions introduced in the amendments aim to address legal but harmful content effectively. The first component retains the duty of service providers to remove illegal content from their platforms. The second principle emphasizes that platforms should remove legal content prohibited by their terms of service while allowing legal content permitted by their terms of service. The third aspect focuses on user empowerment, compelling service providers to offer users tools to control and filter out harmful content as they see fit.

Tech giants such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube will be required to implement a system that grants adult users more control over filtering out harmful content they do not wish to see while ensuring children are protected from accessing such material.

Under the bill, harmful content includes material promoting eating disorders, and inciting hate based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender reassignment, although exemptions will allow for legitimate debates on these topics. The amendments are intended to strike a balance between online safety, free speech, and user empowerment, fostering a safer digital environment for all.