Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: A proposed bill that targets social media bosses has caused another political crisis in Britain. The Online Safety Bill has resulted in a situation whereby Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing a rebellion as many as 36 Conservative lawmakers seeking heads of social media companies to be jailed if their platforms publish harmful content.
Opposition party Labor is also supporting an amendment to the bill through which the communications regulator Ofcom would be given the authority to prosecute any executive at social media outfits if they were found to have violated the law.
Harmful content could lead to tech executives’ accountability
The violator would face as much as two-year imprisonment if evidence showed that thry failed to protect children from harmful content. Examples of the content include showing sexual violence, facilitating suicide, or promoting self-harm.
Led by backbenchers Sir Bill Cash and Miriam Cates, the clause has the backing of political heavyweights including ex-home secretary Priti Patel and former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith.
