The Online Safety Bill that was due to appear in parliament this week has once again been delayed. This is already adding to a delay that was seen in July when the Bill was pushed back due to political uncertainty at the time.
As delays continue, online harm is evidently still affecting thousands of people on a daily basis with reports to our helplines Report Harmful Content and the Revenge Porn Helpline showing that victims of online harm and abuse are still very much in need of essential support.
Report Harmful Content
Since July, Report Harmful Content have responded to 354 reports relating to harmful content online the majority of which have related to harassment and extreme pornographic content. This has resulted in us escalating and removing 92% of content deemed in violation of platform’s community guidelines where initial reporting routes have not worked.
Kathryn Tremlett (Harmful Content Manager at SWGfL) said:
‘‘Anyone can experience harm online and the past few months have shown us that the scale of harm continues to rise causing concern for the future, especially whilst the progression of the Online Safety Bill through parliament continues to be delayed.
We act as an impartial dispute resolution service helping to resolve complaints relating to harmful but legal online content in the UK. Working with a range of industry partners and as the first service of its kind globally, Report Harmful Content provides an appeals process that helps people experiencing harm online to feel appropriately and adequately supported.
Without correct legislation in place that mandates this essential part of the reporting process, people will continue to have minimal recourse against harmful material online.’’
Revenge Porn Helpline
Since July, the Revenge Porn Helpline has supported 1,047 people affected by intimate image abuse which is the sharing of private sexual content without consent. We have reported over 10,000 intimate images for removal from multiple platforms with an almost 90% successful removal rate.
Sophie Mortimer (Revenge Porn Helpline Manager at SWGfL) said:
''We continue to take reports every day from people who have had their intimate images shared without consent, causing distress and devastation across lives, and at a rate that is showing no sign of slowing down. Intimate image abuse is an issue that is becoming more widespread with millions of people around the world affected.
The Online Safety Bill has the potential to protect and support adults and children in the UK in online spaces: any delay, no matter how small, can only result in more harm caused and more reports to helplines like ours.’'
In response to the delay, David Wright (CEO of SWGfL) said:
‘'To delay such an important piece of legislation is once again putting millions of adults and children at risk when they go online. We are experiencing the damage first-hand.
These numbers reflect just how much we need clear and concise laws against online harm. If things continue to be delayed, we will move into more uncertainty for the future and will no doubt continue to see reports grow across our helplines’'
To explore further how this additional delay to the Online Safety Bill will impact online users and their safety, please read our latest article.
