: The UK’s Online Safety Act will impose new responsibilities on social media companies and make them accountable for their content, according to an expert.The bill became law on Oct 26, 2023 and will be fully enforced next year, Anadolu Agency reported. The UK’s media regulator Ofcom will then oversee its implementation and will have the authority to take action against companies that fail to meet their new obligations.
He explained that these events were driven by accounts that spread disinformation and that Muslims and immigrants who were targeted on social media were harmed by these incidents. “There’s no accountability for them. There’s no price to pay. So that’s what needs to change. There needs to be some kind of accountability when they take these very deliberate decisions that cause harm,” Hood added.
The events led to widespread clashes with police, numerous arrests and detentions, and significant property damage across the UK. Aimed at protecting both children and adults online, the 286-page law, set to fully come into effect in the second half of next year, will require technology companies to take greater measures to safeguard children from harmful material, according to Anadolu.