Social media firms to be judged on safety standards ahead of new laws
Social media firms will be judged on their ability to protect their users before tough new legislation is introduced, the culture secretary has warned.
Jeremy Wright today said firms need to take greater action to crack down on harmful material posted to their platforms now or risk a clampdown from a future regulator.
Read more: Tech giants urged to work with government in online harms battle
“I think it would be reasonable for the regulator to assess the performance of a social media companies not just on the day that they start work, but looking at performance over time,” he told a meeting of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee.
Wright said the government will roll out new legislation, enforced by a new online regulator, during the next parliamentary session.
It is not yet clear whether media regulator Ofcom will take on the new responsibilities, or whether a new watchdog will be set up.
But the culture secretary said the body will have the power to hand down fines of up to four per cent of a firm’s revenue, as well as the ability to block websites if they do not conform.
Last month the government published a white paper into online harms, which set out a code of conduct for social media firms and establishing a duty of care over their users.
While the government does not yet have the power to enforce the new rules, Wright said firms will be judged on their actions from now, not just from when the laws come into force.
Read more: Government must pause for thought before introducing online harm regulation
“A sensible online company will make provision for the way they can see the wind is blowing and start to prepare for the advent of the regulator before it actually arrives,” he said.
But Wright said no amount of good behaviour by online firms would rule out the need for legislation, adding a regulatory body was needed to oversee ongoing changes in the industry.