COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW – 13/02/2020
Mathew Ingram
Convincing digital platforms like Facebook and YouTube to remove offensive content is a tricky business in the US, thanks to the First Amendment and laws like Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. In Britain, however, there are a lot fewer restrictions on what the government can do when it comes to regulating the behavior of the digital giants. On Wednesday, the government said it plans to put forward legislation that would give Ofcom, the broadcast regulator, control over social-media platforms. The proposed law comes in response to a government inquiry that produced last year’s Online Harms white paper, and it would allow Ofcom to fine—and even in some cases imprison—any executives that refuse to remove illegal content in a timely manner, or even content that isn’t actually illegal but could be seen as “damaging to children or other vulnerable users,” as the Online Harms white paper described it.