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The Conversation

What is the Online Safety Act and why have riots reopened debates about it?

The Conversation
Summary
Nutrition label

73% Informative

Mayor Sadiq Khan has called the Online Safety Act “not fit for purpose” and Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas Symonds suggested that the government could change the law.

The act deals with the regulation of online speech and aims to protect users from potential harms including abuse and harassment, fraudulent activity and hate offences.

It seeks to place more responsibility on social media companies to ensure their platforms are safe.

This leaves some observers concerned that, until the act fully comes into force, we are in a legal purgatory around what can and cannot be litigated against online. However, we won’t really know how effective the Online Safety Act can be until all of it has come into force and it has been tested in another situation like the recent riots. The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment..

VR Score

64

Informative language

56

Neutral language

50

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

66

Offensive language

possibly offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

short-lived

External references

18

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