If executives at companies like Meta, Google, and TikTok don't cooperate with the U.K. internet regulators, they could face jail time.
The U.K. government announced Wednesday that executives may be charged with a crime within two months of the new Online Safety Bill becoming law.
The Online Safety Bill will be presented to lawmakers in Parliament on Thursday and could become law later this year.
It wants to make it compulsory for social media services, search engines and other platforms that allow people to share their own content to protect children, tackle illegal activity and uphold their stated terms and conditions.
Senior managers at tech firms will be criminally liable for destroying evidence, failing to attend or provide false information in interviews with Ofcom, and for obstructing the watchdog when it enters company offices if a new bill is passed.
The devil will be in the details, said Ben Packer, a partner at Linklaters law firm.
If the senior manager honestly believed that what they provided to Ofcom was not false, the final law would need to limit these offenses to only cover information the individual could reasonably be expected to provide.
Many of the platforms in the scope of the regime will not have a physical presence or individual members of staff based in the UK, so how to enforce these powers will be a major challenge for Ofcom.
Some platforms have been criticized for allowing harmful content to be shared. They say they are doing their best to remove it.
Nadine Dorries said in a statement that tech firms haven't been held to account when harm, abuse and criminal behavior have run riot on their platforms.
The internet needs protection similar to a seat belt in a car, according to Dorries.
It is only sensible that we ensure the same basic protections for the digital age.
The power of Ofcom to fine companies up to 10% of their annual global turnover if they fail to comply with the rules will also potentially be used to prosecute tech execs. Meta could be fined up to $10 billion based on its revenue figures.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport agreed to adopt 66 recommendations made by a committee last year. Recommendations included making online platforms responsible for activities that promote self- harm, extreme pornography and cyber flashing.
The adoption of the recommendations as part of the draft Online Safety Bill was hailed by Damian Collins, chair of the joint committee.
Collins said in a statement that the joint committee on the Online Safety Bill set out a clear list of recommendations back in December, on how to make the bill stronger, whilst also protecting freedom of speech and the freedom of the press.
I'm very happy that the Government has adopted many of our recommendations, which will make the U.K. the safest place to be online. The era of self-regulation for Big Tech is over.
Every bill has to go through a formal process before it becomes an act. Lawmakers in the U.K. have the chance to debate parts of the legislation.
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