Labour slams government for delay to online harms bill

Labour has slammed the government for the delay in introducing an online harms bill and said the failure by Twitter to remove Grime artist Wiley’s account “demonstrates exactly why legislation is needed”.

After a weekend that saw Grime star Wiley post a series of antisemitic tweets, Labour has highlighted that the Tory government initially proposed online regulation in 2017 – but may not introduce a bill until 2023/24.

The opposition party has called attention to repeated failures by online platforms to self-regulate, citing racist abuse faced by Wilfried Zaha and David McGoldrick, and the high level of abuse directed at women in parliament.

Labour has also highlighted the role of social media during Covid-19. The digital, culture, media and sport select committee recently found that misinformation has spread “virulently” because the UK still lacks social media regulation legislation.

Commenting on the abuse, Labour’s Jo Stevens said: “The failure to tackle these high-profile examples of hate speech shows why we so desperately need proper legislation to force the social media companies to keep people safe online.

“Social media companies have had repeated opportunities to show they can police their sites effectively. But when high profile individuals are allowed to keep their platforms after spreading vile antisemitic abuse – and then doubling down when challenged – it’s clear that self-regulation isn’t working.

“The government promised this bill more than a year ago – it’s high time they showed they take the safety of those who use the internet as seriously as the needs and influence of the big tech firms.”

The online harms bill was announced in 2019 following the story of Molly Russell, a 14-year-old girl who killed herself after viewing online images of self-harm. But it remains in the preliminary, ‘white paper’, stage.

Last month, the chair of the Lords democracy digital committee called the delay “unacceptable”. Lord Putnam said: “Here’s a bill that the government paraded as being very important – and it is – which they’ve managed to lose somehow.”

Following the failure of Twitter to take action in relation to the Wiley’s posts this weekend, a number of Labour politicians have joined a boycott of the platform. The party as a whole has not joined but says it supports the aims of the boycott.

The party tweeted this morning that it would not be participating, explaining: “As the official opposition, our duty is to hold the government to account. We cannot afford to be absent from social media platforms.”

Labour said it “supports the aims of the #NoSpaceForJewHate boycott and stands in full solidarity with all those taking part” and would be holding the government to account on the delay to the online harms bill.

The party added: “Online spaces have for too long been a wild west, where people abuse others and spread disinformation with impunity. This cannot continue.”

Using the hashtag #NoSpaceForJewHate, figures from across the labour movement have joined the 48-hour boycott. The action is taking place over the course of Monday and Tuesday this week.