UK: Bill Threatens Zuckerberg With Jail

It is estimated that children between the ages of eight and 17 use social networks for an average of three hours daily.
67 percent of teens, for example, frequently use TikTok in the United States.
Instagram is the second most popular application among the youngest users of the digital ecosystem.

This 2023, some measures against online security that social networks provide to users continue to be registered around the world. Given this, it was recently announced that the UK government is about to approve measures tougher calls for a new online safety bill that could hold tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg criminally liable for harmful content consumed by children in these spaces.

Currently, the digital world is one of the most used globally, and according to a report by We Are Social and Hootsuite, currently there are 4 thousand 620 million. Many of these users may be minors, although most of these platforms have among their requirements being over 18 years of age to be able to register, where data from the report ‘Social networks: angels and demons’, the youngest users, belonging to generation Z, use the internet “intensively”.

Likewise, the investigation revealed that fathers and mothers of children between eight and 17 years old use social networks in an average consumption of three hours daily, and exceeding five hours on weekends. While nine out of ten young people between the ages of 8 and 17 use them, above the total average of the national population, which is equivalent to 82.1 percent.

UK online safety bill

It was revealed on Tuesday that the British government is about to pass tougher measures for a new online safety bill that could hold tech CEOs criminally liable. like Mark Zuckerberg for harmful content consumed by children on social media.

Specifically, this law is an amendment to the bill that proposes prison sentences of up to two years for technology executives who fail to protect young children from online content which, according to experts, puts them at greater risk of self-harm.

According to the language of the bill, technology companies will be required to “remove illegal content” including “child sexual abuse,” “controlling or coercive behavior”, “extreme sexual violence”, “fraud”, “hate crime”, inciting violence”, “illegal immigration and human trafficking”, “promoting or facilitating suicide”, “promoting self-harm” , “revenge pornography”, “sexual exploitation” and “terrorism”.

Given this law, technology firms must “Prevent children from accessing content that is harmful and inappropriate for their age.” As they will also be required to “enforce age limits and age verification measures”, as well as “publish risk assessments”.

According to local media, the failure of technology companies to enforce these measures could also result in severe sanctions, including fines of up to 22 million dollars or “10 percent of its annual global turnover, whichever is greater.”

“Criminal action will be taken against senior managers who do not follow the regulators’ requests for information,” according to the British government.

For his part, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reached an agreement with lawmakers from his Conservative Party who demanded changes to the online security bill. The proposed legislation will be submitted to the House of Lords sometime this spring and is expected to pass sometime before the end of the UK parliamentary session in November.

Let’s remember that this panorama comes when Great Britain, like the European Union and other countries, has been fighting to protect users of social networks, and in particular children, from harmful content without harming freedom of expression.

For the UK, unlike the US, does not have free speech protections enshrined in a constitution. In countries like the US, Silicon Valley is said to be keeping a close eye on how the bill makes its way through the UK parliament.