Social media sites will not need to remove “legal but harmful” content as part of the UK’s new internet safety legislation.
Michelle Donelan, the Culture Secretary yanked the clause from the Online Safety Bill to make tech giants - such as Meta’s Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest - take down problematic content before it goes back to the Houses of Parliament for a vote due to concerns about “free speech”.
She remarked that the current form “had a very, very concerning impact potentially on free speech".
Michelle continued to Sky News: "There are unintended consequences associated with it.
"It was really the anchor that was preventing this bill from getting off the ground. It was a creation of a quasi-legal category between illegal and legal. That's not what a government should be doing."
Those opposed to the move - such as free speech campaigners - expressed concern it would allow for censorship but those in favour believed the measure provided essential protections for children.
On Saturday (26.11.2022), Michelle said: “Social media firms can no longer remain silent bystanders. They’ll face fines for allowing this abusive and destructive behaviour to continue on their platforms under our laws.”
The bill - which debuted in 2021 - has faced many delays due to division within the Conservative party about the threat it poses to free speech. In the summer, Kemi Badenoch deemed the bill in “no fit state” to be law and argued “we should not be legislating for hurt feelings”.
The then-Culture secretary Nadine Dorries clapped back, asking if telling people to kill themselves was merely “hurt feelings”, a debate that Michelle said she intended to iron out.
