Online Safety Bill Briefing

Responding to widespread concerns around online safety and prompted by recent high-profile cases including the Euro 2020 final and the online abuse of MPs, in March 2022 the Online Safety Bill was introduced to Parliament. This complex and wide-ranging piece of legislation aims to tackle the rise in harmful content and create safer spaces online for children and adults while protecting freedom of expression.

Ushering in a new era of accountability, the Online Safety Bill will establish a new regulatory regime, led by Ofcom, to address both illegal, and legal but harmful content and activity online. For the first time, it imposes a statutory duty of care on ‘regulated service providers’ such as social media sites, gaming platforms and search engines to ensure they have robust systems and processes in place to regulate content and protect users, especially children, from harm and associated risk.

As we prepare for what comes next, now is the time to understand and address the impact of the Online Safety Bill for local authorities, public sector organisations and tech firms as they take steps to get ahead of the legislation.

The House Briefing Online safety bill briefing taking place on 22 September will consider the legal and regulatory ramifications of the Online Safety Bill, exploring definitions of harm and what it means for children and vulnerable adults, addressing questions over anonymity and data protection online and the implications for tech companies and ‘in scope’ organisations in complying with the new laws. Get the latest updates and developments from Government, hear first-hand from the regulator and be ready for what comes next with practical insight, guidance and takeaways from legal experts, key stakeholders and industry case studies.