The Online Safety Bill has been in the works for about six years and claims to have the goal of protecting children from illegal and damaging content. If it’s passed, regulators will be working alongside major social media platforms to censor content.
If it passes, however, according to digital rights campaigners, the Open Rights Group, freedom of speech online could be jeopardized, as it poses… “a huge threat to freedom of expression with tech companies expected to decide what is and isn't legal, and then censor content before it's even been published.”
A major concern is that, while the law intends to rein in Big Tech, it actually will force more than 20,000 small businesses to participate as well.
Source:
BBC September 19, 2023