We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. The Online Safety Bill

Landmark laws to keep children safe, stop racial hate and protect democracy online published

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2021-05-21 10:00:10

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The Online Safety Bill will help protect young people and clamp down on racist abuse online, while safeguarding freedom of expression.

New internet laws will be published today in the draft Online Safety Bill to protect children online and tackle some of the worst abuses on social media, including racist hate crimes.

Ministers have added landmark new measures to the Bill to safeguard freedom of expression and democracy, ensuring necessary online protections do not lead to unnecessary censorship.

The draft Bill marks a milestone in the Government’s fight to make the internet safe. Despite the fact that we are now using the internet more than ever, over three quarters of UK adults are concerned about going online, and fewer parents feel the benefits outweigh the risks of their children being online – falling from 65 per cent in 2015 to 55 per cent in 2019.

The draft Bill includes changes to put an end to harmful practices, while ushering in a new era of accountability and protections for democratic debate, including: