Guidance

Fact sheet on enhanced protections for journalism within the Online Safety Bill

The government has made a number of amendments to the Online Safety Bill in relation to content published by a recognised news publisher.

• From: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
• Published: 23 August 2022

Documents

Fact sheet on enhanced protections for journalism within the Online Safety Bill

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Details

In recognition of the need to protect the invaluable role of a free press in our society and democracy, the government has made a number of amendments to the Online Safety Bill in relation to content published by a recognised news publisher. These amendments, added to the Bill in the House of Commons on 12 July 2022, will:

• Prevent platforms from arbitrarily removing news content by introducing a new ‘temporary must carry’ provision. Platforms will need to notify news publishers and offer a right of appeal before removing or moderating content;
• Clarify the explicit protections for ‘below the line’ comments on news publishers’ sites on the face of the Bill;
• Introduce a duty on Ofcom to undertake and publish a review of the impact of the Online Safety regulatory framework on availability of journalistic content and news publisher content, as well as a requirement on platforms to carry out and publish an assessment of the impact that policies to fulfil their safety duties will have on news publishers’ content. This will ensure that the framework does not have unintended consequences on access to news material.

Published 23 August 2022