Tech bosses warn Online Safety Bill will impact free speech

A survey by the Chartered Institute for IT has found that 58% of IT experts surveyed think the Online Safety Bill (OSB) will have a negative impact on free speech.

The OSB would place a duty of care on social media platforms like Meta, Twitter and Snapchat to better protect users and develop systems to identify and remove harmful, illegal material as well as content that is legal but harmful.

Just 9% of respondents said they thought the 'legal but harmful' part of the Bill would actually work properly.

According to the survey, a mere 14% of respondents think the legislation is fit for purpose, while nearly half, 46%, think it's unworkable.

The OSB is on pause over the summer recess and both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, still campaigning to be the next Prime Minister have said they would make changes to the Bill.

At the heart of the debate about the effectiveness of the proposed Bill is a tension between campaigners who want children to be better protected online and free speech campaigners.

When the Bill was introduced in parliament, CARE welcomed the provisions that will protect children from online pornography while joining others in raising concerns about the free speech provisions of the Bill.