In a joint proposal from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Home Office websites sharing and hosting harmful content could now be liable for a fine.
The Online Harms White Paper produced by both governing
What is harmful content?
Harmful content goes beyond what is illegal.
No one is exempt
Even messaging apps and social media networks will be as responsible for the content shared by its users as other websites which means that these social networks will need to step up the policing of their own content to make sure that they are compliant. It’s unclear how companies will be
What happens now?
The proposal, which includes suggestions for the Code of Conduct, will be discussed over the next 12 weeks. It could be that a new regulatory body is created or an existing government body, like Ofcom, takes over enforcing these new rules. You can find more information on the BBC website.