All Sections

View and post jobs in journalism
  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Comment/Analysis
  • Editor's Pick
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Broadcast Journalism
    • Digital Journalism
    • Magazines
    • Media Law
    • National Newspapers
    • People
      • Appointments
      • Obituaries
    • Regional Newspapers
  • Press Gazette Podcast
  • British Journalism Awards
  • Press Gazette Email Newsletter

In the news

  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • About us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • RSS
Close
[mashshare]
Skip to content
  • About us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • RSS
All sections

Search

Search pressgazette.co.uk

Close

Press Gazette

Subscribe to our email newsletter Journalism email newsletter
  • News
  • Comment
  • Data
  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Marketing
  • Awards
  • Jobs

Menu

  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Interviews
  • National Newspapers
  • Regional Newspapers
  • Digital Journalism
  • Broadcast Journalism
  • Media Law
  • Magazines
  • Wires and Agencies
  • Obituaries
  • News
  • Comment/Analysis
  • Jobs
  • British Journalism Awards

In the news

  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
Close
Full Fact wins Google grant to develop automated fact check tools
Sunday Telegraph poaches new Stella magazine editor from Grazia
May 8, 2019
  • Digital Journalism
  •    
  • Media Law
  •    
  • News
  •    
  • Social media
  •    

Culture Secretary bids to bring new internet safety laws before Parliament after summer recess

By James Walker Twitter

Share this

  • Tweet
  • Share 0
  • Reddit
Comments
2

The Culture Secretary has pushed for new online safety laws, including a regulator to oversee a new code of conduct for social media firms, to be introduced in the next parliamentary session.

Jeremy Wright told MPs today that he aimed to bring forward legislation for a “duty of care” code, to be upheld by an independent regulator, which was set out in the Government’s Online Harms White Paper in April.

Timeline

  • January 30, 2020

    Former BBC journalist who backs licence fee reform elected DCMS Committee chairman

  • January 16, 2020

    Sky boss calls for urgent online harms legislation while Ofcom eyed as interim digital regulator

  • January 9, 2020

    Culture Secretary 'minded to' intervene over sale of i paper to Daily Mail owner

Speaking to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee this afternoon, Wright Wright told MPs he wanted to “get on” with implementing the proposed new legislation.

He added: “There is a sense of urgency to this. So the intention – and I have bid for this – is that we should bring forward legislation in the next parliamentary session.”

The next parliamentary session will begin after the summer recess.

New online safety laws proposed in the White Paper would require all companies that allow users to “share or discover user-generated content or interact with each other online” to take tackle illegal and harmful activity on their platforms.

An independent regulator will oversee the new laws, including ensuring social media firms publish transparency reports on the amount of harmful content that has appeared on their platforms.

The Government is still consulting on whether this regulator should be a new body or if the remit of an existing watchdog, such as Ofcom, should be expanded.

The Government’s response to the findings of the DCMS Committee 18-month inquiry into fake news and disinformation was also released today.

In it, the Government said it was committed to ensuring the newly proposed online regulator “has sufficient resources” and expertise to perform its role effectively.

It said the regulator will be funded by industry in the medium term, with “suitable funding models, including a levy to put the regulator on a sustainable footing” in consideration.

It also gave an indication of how complaints would be dealt with under the proposed regulatory framework, with a right to complain to a regulated company and appeal the decision, then push this up either to the regulator or an “industry-led scheme or body” via a “super complaints route”.

It said this last stage is still being consulted on.

The DCMS fake news inquiry also called for the Government to make a statement about how many investigations are currently being carried out into Russian interference in UK politics.

In response to this, the Government said: “There is no evidence of successful foreign interference in UK democratic processes, this includes the 2016 referendum and the 2017 general election.”

In addition, the Government said:

  • It will respond to the Furman Review’s recommendations later this year
  • It is still considering recommendations made in the Cairncross Review and “will look to take action where appropriate”
  • Political candidates, parties and campaigners will be required to brand digital election materials, under the new online safety laws
  • Any move to zero-rate VAT for digital news publications is a matter for the Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Online Harms White Paper was published in April this year, setting out a regulatory framework for internet safety and penalties that could be brought against firms that failed to comply with new rules.

A 12-week consultation on the White Paper’s proposals is still ongoing.

Picture: Reuters/Peter Nicholls

SIGN UP HERE FOR

MEDIA MONITOR

Press Gazette's weekly email providing strategic insight into the future of the media

Subscribe

Related Stories

  • New online safety laws pose ‘profound dangers to press freedom’, warn UK media groups
  • Proposed new internet regulator will not step on toes of press watchdogs, says Culture Secretary
  • White Paper: Government proposes tough new online safety laws as it warns firms the 'era of self-regulation is over'
  • More than 5,000 Hacked Off supporters urge Government to enact Section 40 as consultation deadline looms

Explore these topics

  • DCMS
  • Regulation
Browse, search and add journalism jobs
Comments

2 thoughts on “Culture Secretary bids to bring new internet safety laws before Parliament after summer recess”

  1. Anna says:
    July 26, 2019 at 4:29 pm

    Great post shared. This is one of the amazing article shared.

    Reply
  2. Alan says:
    May 9, 2019 at 6:05 pm

    High level ‘what we need to do’ masks the mechanisms required to achieve such ends. Combine this with the vague legislation surrounding data handling and the safeguards for abuse really don’t exist. Instead of the emotive ‘we must save the children’ cry, lawmakers should attempt transparency.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More content

Post a job on Press Gazette

Most Popular

  1. New York Times third-party cookies New York Ties Interview: New York Times explains the in-house adtech it is using to prepare for the death of third-party cookies
  2. cookies Enter Sandbox: How Google is building an internet without cookies - and why publishers are concerned
  3. Press and Journal publisher DC Thomson books £180m loss - but predicts recovery after 'one-off' Covid hit
  4. GB News launch: Why advertisers are positive about new anchor-led news channel for UK
  5. Sun editor Victoria Newton hails 'incredible public service' of newspapers as 50,000 sign up to be Covid vaccine hub volunteers

Latest Jobs

  • Global Witness logo investigative journalist job Investigation Officer (Forests), Global Witness
  • Editor in Chief, Scottish Sun
  • Features Producer, Economist Radio
Sunday Telegraph poaches new Stella magazine editor from Grazia

© copyright 2021 Press Gazette Ltd. Made in Taiwan.