Express & Star

MP helping to draft Online Safety Bill

A Black Country MP has been selected to sit on a parliamentary committee looking at legislation designed to make the UK the world's safest place to be online.

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Stourbridge MP Suzanne Webb

Conservative MP Suzanne Webb will work cross-party on the committee, looking at the draft Online Safety Bill ahead of it being presented to MPs in the autumn.

The draft bill proposes a duty of care on social media companies, or other platforms that allow users to share and post material, to remove any harmful content, with a focus on protecting children online.

Watchdog Ofcom could also be handed powers to fine companies up to £18 million, or 10 per cent of their annual global turnover, and block access to sites if their platforms fail to protect users from harmful content.

Stourbridge MP Ms Webb said: “I am honoured to be picked to take a first look at this very important new piece of proposed legislation.

"This is a wide-ranging piece of legislation and truly groundbreaking because some of its proposals, around harmful content and fines, would be world firsts.

"There is no doubt the public supports greater protection from harmful online content, particularly for children."