Tech Leaders To Be Imprisoned If They Don't Follow UK Laws

Senior managers of tech firms would face up to two years in prison if they fail to comply with British rules aimed at ensuring online safety for internet users, the UK government said Thursday, as it unveiled the draft legislation in Parliament, Kelvin Chan reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: The ambitious but controversial online safety bill would give regulators wide-ranging powers to crack down on digital and social media companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.

The ambitious but controversial online safety bill would give regulators wide-ranging powers to crack down on digital and social media companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.

The UK is the vanguard of a global movement to rein in the power of tech platforms and make them more responsible for harmful material such as child sex abuse, racist content, bullying, fraud, and other harmful material that proliferates on their platforms. Similar efforts are underway in the European Union (EU) and US.

While the internet has transformed people’s lives, “tech firms haven’t been held to account when harm, abuse, and criminal behavior have run riot on their platforms,” UK Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries said in a statement.

“If we fail to act, we risk sacrificing the wellbeing and innocence of countless generations of children to the power of unchecked algorithms.” British lawmakers still need to vote to approve the bill before it becomes law.

The government has toughened the legislation since it was first written after a committee of lawmakers recommended improvements. Changes include clamping down on anonymous trolls, requiring porn sites to verify users are 18 or older, and making cyberflashing — or sending someone unsolicited graphic images — a criminal offense.

Tech executives would be criminally liable two months after the law takes force, instead of two years afterward as proposed in the original draft. Companies could be fined up to 10% of their annual global revenue for violations.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic