Senior managers at technology companies could face up to two years in prison if they repeatedly fail to protect children from harmful content, under a revised Online Safety Bill agreed by the UK government.
The deal, reached with Conservative backbenchers, heads off a rebellion that threatened defeat in Tuesday’s Commons vote. Ministers agreed to introduce criminal liability for persistent breaches of the duty of care to children, targeting executives who ignore enforcement notices from the communications regulator Ofcom.
Under the changes, bosses will face prosecution for failures to remove material promoting self-harm, eating disorders, and other harms. However, the legislation will not apply to those who have “acted in good faith to comply in a proportionate way”.
The rebellion was led by Miriam Cates and Sir Bill Cash, with support from Iain Duncan Smith and Priti Patel. The government is expected to introduce the amendments when the bill moves to the House of Lords.
A government source said Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan was “pleased that colleagues will no longer be pushing their amendments to a vote following constructive conversation and work”.
The NSPCC welcomed the move. Richard Collard, the charity’s associate head of child safety online policy, said: “By committing to senior manager liability the culture secretary has sent a strong and welcome signal that she will give the online safety bill the teeth needed to drive a culture change within the heart of tech companies.”
