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Tech companies that fail to stem the spread of terrorist content and the exploitation of children online will face stiff new sanctions in the UK, according to government plans announced Monday.
The content of terrorism shared on social media will have to be removed "in a short predetermined time" and businesses will have to do more to end child grooming online, the government said. Directors could be held personally liable if these new rules were violated and their companies could be fined or banned in the UK.
The UK government's White Paper on online misdemeanors, which will be published in full on Monday, reflects the concerns of policymakers in many countries about the role of social media in the dissemination of harmful content.
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were sharply criticized after live broadcast by an armed man of a graphic sequence of shootings in two mosques in New Zealand last month. The video was copied and uploaded to multiple social media platforms even after the original was removed from Facebook.
Last week, Australia pbaded some of the toughest laws in the world on preventing the "militarization" of social media, including the possibility of jailing technology officials and fines for 10 percent of the total. global business.
Many industry experts are expecting the United States to regulate Silicon Valley this year. This sector is considered one of the few areas in which Democrats and Republicans can be willing to cooperate.
Said Javid, UK Home Secretary, said he was shocked by the fact that the terrorist content and the badual exploitation of children were still as easily accessible online.
"In simple terms, technology companies have not done enough to protect their users and prevent this shocking content from appearing in the first place," he said.
The government's proposals, developed jointly by the Home Office and the Department of Culture, Media and Sports, "would protect British citizens and ensure that technology companies can no longer ignore their responsibilities," he added.
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Facebook, called last month for a broader regulation of technology companies, although US lawmakers treated his intervention with skepticism.
Rebecca Stimson, head of UK policy for Facebook, said the company had tripled the team that identified harmful content to 30,000 people, but admitted that there remained "a lot more to do."
"New rules for the Internet should protect society from harm while supporting innovation, the digital economy and freedom of expression," she said. "These are complex issues to be resolved and we look forward to working with the government and parliament to ensure the effectiveness of the new regulations."
John Whittingdale, former Conservative Secretary of Culture, criticized the government's plan, saying the "radical crackdown on our brilliant technology sector" would encourage authoritarian regimes around the world to restrict freedom of expression on the Web .
Whittingdale, writing in the Mail on Sunday, said the "due diligence" on technology leaders was well-intentioned, but could "drag British citizens into a draconian censorship regime. ".
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