By Ross Anderson and Sam Gilbert
Public opinion with respect to a small number of tech platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Google, YouTube, Twitter and TikTok, shapes the context for the UK’s Online Safety Bill. Rightly or wrongly, many people believe these platforms largely constitute the web. While these major platforms were previously viewed as neutral or even benign, a series of scandals has raised questions about their responsibility for serious harms that result from the services they provide. Platform owners’ responses have included revisions to terms of service, increases in moderation team staffing and (in Meta’s case) the creation of an independent 0versight board. These have generally been seen as insufficient. These have generally been seen as insufficient.
Regulators around the world are wrestling with rules to protect consumers online. ROSS ANDERSON and SAM GILBERT review the UK’s proposed Online Safety Bill and suggest some changes
- Intermedia Issue:
- Vol 50 Issue 2
- Issue Date:
- December 2022
Sam Gilbert
Affiliated researcher, Bennett Institute for Public Policy 
Ross Anderson
Professor of Security Engineering at the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh 
