To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Online Safety Bill on terrorist content (a) linked and (b) not linked to the UK list of proscribed terrorist groups.
Answered on
28 March 2022
The effect of the Online Safety Bill on terrorist content has been considered as part of the published Impact Assessment.
The Bill will require all in-scope companies to prevent terrorist content from being uploaded onto their sites, and when it is uploaded, to remove it immediately. The duty of care overseen by Ofcom will set a high standard that all in-scope platforms will need to meet, and therefore increase the amount of terrorist content that is identified and removed.
Those who fail to do so, will need to answer to an independent regulator, Ofcom, who will have the power to require all in-scope companies to use automated technology to identify and remove terrorist content from their public channels.
The Government has also pressed companies to increase the use of technology to automate the detection and removal of terrorist content where possible. As a result of continued engagement, companies have expanded the use of automated removals.