A huge majority of adults are putting pressure on the UK government to pass stricter measures to better protect young children online. 81% of such individuals need tech to hire senior managers that would be legally responsible for kids getting harmed by the likes of social media as per this new poll.
On average, around four out of five people claim to be dissatisfied with the current Online Safety Bill that is designed to better regulate online content so users stay safe.
The news comes as a huge group of MPs provides assurance for a new amendment so that legislation would hold tech bosses accountable on their respective platforms for giving rise to harm, abuse, or even the death of kids.
This past year, one young schoolgirl passed away after suffering injuries due to self-harm that she encountered from depression and negative online content effects.
So many MPs require social media firms to be held accountable for these types of incidents and they’re now calling upon the government to make changes to this Bill before it’s too late.
This current bill is likely to solely hold positions like managers responsible for the failure of providing the right information to regulate Ofcom, instead of different corporate decisions which give rise to incidents like harm or abuse that could be prevented.
The NSPCC chief executive added how it’s high time that the legislation gives rise to bold and top-of-the-line regulation which ensures that this buck doesn’t stop with the senior management by their side.
An open letter was even sent out to parents by the country’s culture secretary who vowed that social media firms would be responsible for not only illegal content but material that’s bound to cause serious harm to young kids.
This letter highlighted six different points in the bill that are designed to crack down against various social media apps. They included getting rid of illegal content like child abuse and terrorism.
Next up, it vowed to protect kids from harmful content like cyberbullying and marketing eating disorders. They even ended up putting legal duties on firms to ensure age limits that are usually 13 for most.
Similarly, firms would be urged to double check age and protect kids from producing inappropriate content that’s similar to new crackdowns on explicit Adult websites. Moreover, posts that encourage self-harm would also be made illegal and firms would be forced to publish risk assessments on dangers posed to young kids on such platforms.
In case a certain company does end up falling short, they could face fines that go up to one billion pounds and the end result would include blockage of websites across the United Kingdom.
This particular survey by YouGov also showed how the majority of people wanted social media and gaming sites to appoint managers that would ensure children are protected. In the same way, 87% of respondents from this survey felt that those companies who failed to provide the right security measures should be held accountable with fines. But only half as many claimed that the right punishment would be to fine managers in charge.
For now, the Online Safety Bill is all set to return to the UK Parliament by January 16 but we’re not quite sure what other amendments if any, would be brought about. But people are expecting a lot, considering the growing threats present in today’s online world.
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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World
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