Pointed out for its “unrealistic objectives”, this piece of legislation is still the subject of debate in the British government. It raises in particular fears on the side of encrypted messaging.
The British government is in final discussion to enforce the Online Safety Bill, a piece of legislation aimed at better regulating digital platforms in the territory.
The text, aimed at strengthening security and privacy management, must be implemented in the course of 2024, but today fails to convince all the players concerned.
• What does this law contain?
Presented as it is in May 2021, this text is similar to the European DSA, which logically does not cover the United Kingdom. It involves heavy fines and even legal action against companies that do not comply.
This is to regulate scams and misleading advertising, prevent minors from accessing pornographic content, give users better control over the content to which they are exposed, details Context media. An online age verification system is also included, similar to what has just been proposed in the United States.
Finally, digital companies will have to carry out audits on the potential risks incurred by minors when they use these platforms, and share with the British regulator the details of the measures taken to limit them.
• Why is the text controversial?
If many actors have stepped up to denounce the flaws of this text, fear is rising, among others, on the side of encrypted messaging services.
Paradoxically, this text advocating enhanced security and better data management consists, in its form, of breaking down the layers of security offered by platforms such as WhatsApp, Signal or Element.
The encrypted messages that are characteristic of them are in fact an obstacle to the moderation mentioned in the Online Safety Bill. By imposing on platforms strict moderation of content shared on these services, they would be forced to break this promise of end-to-end encryption. This system makes it possible to send only decipherable messages between the interlocutors concerned – in the texts, the platforms themselves cannot read them.
• Which actors were against?
WhatsApp quickly rose to the niche. “The authors of the law say they are happy with the importance of encryption and privacy, while claiming that it is possible to monitor everyone’s smartphones without breaking end-to-end encryption. The truth is, it’s just not possible.” said WhatsApp in a statement published on April 17, 2023.
Same story for Signal. “(The law involves) an extremely expensive and inoperable system, which today is the realm of fantasy. Signal could be completely decommissioned before we break the promises made to the privacy of our users” alerted Meredith Whittaker, President of the Signal Messaging Foundation.
The Wikimedia Foundation has taken a stand against the age verification system proposed in the text. “It would go against our commitment to collect a minimum of personal data from our readers and contributors,” said its representative Rebecca MacKinnon.
Finally, even the United Nations expressed concern about a “paradigm shift that raises a wave of serious problems with potentially disastrous consequences”, in a report published in July 2022.
• Who is behind this law?
The Online Safety Bill finds, in part, its origin in an event that occurred during the year 2017: Instagram’s formal notice by the parents of a young girl who committed suicide after viewing a number of posts related to depression, suicide and self-harm.
Widely publicized, the affair had an international impact and pushed the British government to act to better regulate digital technology, by proposing a first piece of legislation at the time. This will, however, wavered with the succession of the four cabinets which have been elected to lead the country since 2017, each reworking the text in its own way.
The result is therefore a weighty text, probably one of the strictest in terms of digital regulation in the West, strongly debated within the government itself.
• Has the government responded to fears?
In a report published on January 18, 2023, the current government itself has publicly taken cognizance of the concerns of the various actors. It also summarizes the changes to the law made during its passage through the English House of Commons, and the “foreseeable changes” that the final text will entail.
Although some concessions have been made in the desire for a consensus, the text remains quite similar in its substance, and in particular on the points which annoy.
Still under debate, the text must soon be validated by the House of Lords before being officially promulgated. If accepted, it should be effective from mid-2024.
