The government has introduced an offence to criminalise “fake news” as well as cyberflashing and epilepsy-trolling under the Online Safety Act.
It said that “abusers, trolls, and predators online now face a fleet of tough new jailable offences from today as offences for ‘cyberflashing,’ sending death threats, and ‘epilepsy-trolling’ are written into the statute book after the Online Safety Act gained Royal Assent.”
This means that a person will be committing a jailable offence if they send a message that they know to be false. The person must also have no reasonable excuse for sending the message.
The government said that this “will bolster the government’s strong commitment to clamping down on dangerous disinformation and election interference online.”
‘Better Peace of Mind When Online’
Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said that from today, “online abusers and trolls will be prosecuted and put behind bars for their cowardly and menacing acts—ensuring the public are protected and can have better peace of mind when online.”She said that “our pioneering Online Safety Act is already setting a global standard, and pivotal protections like these will keep sick individuals off our streets and unable to endanger Brits online.”
Ms. Donelan also announced a crackdown on “epilepsy-trolling” dubbed “Zach’s law” which will also mean people online who show flashing images electronically with the intention of causing harm to people with epilepsy will be held accountable for their actions and face prison.
Cyberflashing on dating apps, AirDrop and other platforms will also result in perpetrators facing up to two years behind bars where it is done to gain sexual gratification, or to cause alarm, distress or humiliation. Non-consensual sharing of intimate images known as “revenge porn” is also outlawed.
Sending death threats or threatening serious harm online will also carry a jail sentence of up to five years under a new “threatening communications” offence that will completely outlaw appalling threats made online that would be illegal if said in person.
The legislation imposes new legal duties on big tech companies and service providers, overseen by the regulator Ofcom.
Free Speech
Free speech activists are cautious about the major implications on free speech.“The Online Safety Bill also poses a huge threat to freedom of expression with tech companies expected to decide what is and isn’t legal,” it said.
“Automated moderation will censor content before it’s even been published, re-introducing prior restraint for the first time since the 1600s,” it added.
