A Joint Committee of Parliament set up to scrutinise the UK’s Online Safety Bill has set out its stall this week by asking the public for their views on the draft legislation. The Bill, published by the government in draft form in May 2021, is designed to establish a new regulatory framework to tackle harmful content online.
The Committee will be chaired by Damian Collins MP, the former chair of House of Commons DCMS Select Committee, whose seminal inquiry on Disinformation and ‘fake news’ recommended tougher action on online hate speech and greater regulation of social media companies, including Facebook.
Chaos in Washington DC fuels mounting calls for Biden crackdown on Big Tech
The riots inside the US Capitol have given fuel to calls for the Biden administration to seriously review major technology companies
7 January 2021 • 5:54pm
Joe Biden faces mounting pressure to crackdown on Big Tech and review whether companies such as Facebook and Twitter contributed to the violent protests in Washington DC on Wednesday evening.
Activists and politicians who have for years expressed concern that social media can be used to spread misinformation and hatred called on the next President to closely scrutinise businesses.
Roger McNamee, one of the earliest investors in Facebook who has since become a prominent critic of the company, said that social media businesses “are accessories to the felonies we are seeing on our TVs.”