Security News > 2021 > December > MPs charged with analysing Online Safety Bill say end-to-end encryption should be called out as 'specific risk factor'

Britain's Online Safety Bill is being enthusiastically endorsed in a "Manifesto" issued today by MPs who were tasked with scrutinising its controversial contents.

Parliament's Joint Committee on the Online Safety Bill published the report declaring the bill would let government ministers "Call time on the Wild West online."

As drafted, the bill doesn't go far enough and ought to impose more bans and regulations on activities that take place over an internet connection - for example, "Cyberflashing", promotion of self-harm, posting adverts for online fraud, and so on.

"The Committee has set out recommendations to bring more offences clearly within the scope of the Online Safety Bill, give Ofcom the power in law to set minimum safety standards for the services they will regulate, and to take enforcement action against companies if they don't comply," said Collins in a canned statement.

The bill's stated aim is protecting children from unsuitable content on the World Wide Web, though every political campaigning group imaginable has weighed in during the general public debate about the bill.

"The Bill leaves a lot of definitions abstract, and much of the concrete expectations for what platforms will be asked to do will be set out in secondary legislation and Codes of Practice," said the BCS, "Meaning it's currently very difficult to assess what exactly platforms will be asked to do to reduce harms and protect rights, and whether it will be sufficient."

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/12/14/online_safety_bill_report/