The Online Safety Bill was due to appear on the Commons schedule this week but it appears to have now been taken off and delayed even further. This is adding to the Bill already being delayed throughout summer with it being expected to return to parliament on 1st November.
Now, with further delays in place, the safety of users online continues to be called into question without any firm direction of when a robust Online Safety Bill will come into force.
David Wright (CEO of SWGfL) said:
''Any further delay to the online safety bill is continuing to put the safety of users at risk. Damaging online harm is consistently being experienced by millions of adults throughout the UK and without proper legislation in place, how can anyone feel they are appropriately protected when they go online?
Our helpline practitioners witness first-hand how children and adults alike fall victim to distressing harmful content online, and often, it is the only place they can turn to for support. This bill should not be delayed; each day without legislation brings considerable amounts of uncertainty for what the future may hold. Now is the time to prioritise online safety and push this bill through.''
The Online Safety Bill is looking to put legislation into place that will better protect users online. The bill will be the first of its kind for the UK and will look to hold tech firms accountable under a new regulation by Ofcom.
For SWGfL, the Bill is a landmark change for online safety and one that we have been working towards for many years. Our own helplines and support services were created to support a safer internet and the Online Safety Bill will provide a much-needed lawful stance in protecting people online.
With this delay in place, find out more about why the Online Safety Bill is needed by reading our article from March.
