The Tech Shock Podcast - The Online Safety Bill Returns
After a period of uncertainty the Online Safety Bill (‘OSB’) has returned to parliament. In this episode Vicki and Geraldine unpack the latest version of the OSB, and discuss some of the implications – positive and negative – of a regulated internet.
The pair go over some recent changes to the bill, including: the removal of references to ambiguous (and hotly debated) ‘legal but harmful’ content, the move towards a new ‘triple shield’ model (and away from the previous ‘duty of care’ language), and the now illegal status of content which promotes self-harm – an amendment added due, at least in part, to the inquest into the death of 14 year old Molly Russell.
And of course, questions still remain. Even if some vague terminology has been scrapped, what constitutes ‘promoting self-harm’? And is the volume of content, rather than its severity, something the OSB needs to focus on more?
Vicki and Geraldine also examine many other facets of the bill, including the importance it places on media literacy; ‘user tools’, self-regulation, and autonomy; the balancing of end-to-end encryption, privacy, and minimising criminal activity; and the potential conflict between ‘blanket’ age-gating and stages of child development.
They round off by asking what might be missing. If the OSB is finally passed, will there be sufficient mention of gaming and financial harms? And, ultimately, is this a bill that’s future-proofed enough to deal with the challenges which Web 3.0 and the metaverse will bring?