Cecily Zamora
The UK's Online Safety Act 2023 puts a range of new duties on social media companies, making them more responsible for their users' safety and protection from harm on their platforms. While UK laws are written to ensure freedom of expression, even for offensive material, there are laws in place to uphold the criminal law. For example, Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 makes it an offence to make improper use of a public electronic communications network, which can include grossly offensive communications. The Online Safety Act also requires social media companies to enforce age limits consistently and protect children from harmful content. Additionally, the Act addresses illegal content, such as harassment, stalking, and hate speech, which can result in fines for social media companies if they fail to address it.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Nature of the offence | Grossly offensive, indecent, obscene, menacing, false, persistent, annoying, harassing, discriminatory, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harmful, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, racially offensive |
| Applicable laws | Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, Suicide Act 1961, Online Safety Act 2023 |
| Punishment | Imprisonment for a maximum of 2 years or 6 months depending on the nature of the offence |
| Jurisdiction | Applicable to companies outside the UK if they have links to the UK, including if they have a significant number of UK users, if the UK is a target market, or if it is capable of being accessed by UK users and there is a material risk of significant harm to such users |
| Enforcement | Prosecution depends on the cooperation of social media platforms with the courts and law enforcement agencies |
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What You'll Learn
- UK laws balance freedom of expression with protection from hate crime
- Offensive posts face rigorous assessment and public interest tests
- Credible threats of violence, stalking, or harassment are prosecutable
- Social media companies are responsible for policing illegal content
- The UK's Online Safety Act aims to protect children and adults online
UK laws balance freedom of expression with protection from hate crime
The UK's criminal law responds to hate crimes in three main ways: criminalising conduct, including expression, that is intended or likely to "stir up hatred" on the grounds of race, religion, or sexual orientation. Hate speech laws in the UK are found in several statutes, including the Communications Act 2003 and the Public Order Act 1986, which prohibit offensive and threatening communications made over electronic networks and expressions of racial and religious hatred, respectively. These laws aim to protect individuals from abuse and harassment while also upholding freedom of expression as a fundamental right.
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) recognises that the right to freedom of expression "carries with it duties and responsibilities". As such, this right may be subject to restrictions and conditions necessary in a democratic society, such as maintaining public safety, protecting health, and safeguarding the rights of others. The UK government has emphasised its commitment to protecting freedom of speech, particularly in the context of non-crime hate incidents, where individuals express views that may be offensive but do not violate the law.
To balance freedom of expression with the need to address hate crimes, the UK legal system has implemented measures such as rigorous assessments of offensive posts on social media. These assessments consider the context and intent behind the communication, distinguishing between offensive content and credible threats or targeted harassment. Additionally, the UK police have introduced guidelines to ensure that non-crime hate incidents are recorded and addressed proportionately, focusing on protecting freedom of expression and personal data while safeguarding vulnerable groups.
While the law plays a crucial role in preventing and addressing hate crimes, it is not the sole solution. Social media platforms also have a significant responsibility in this area, as their cooperation is often necessary for law enforcement agencies to identify and track down offenders. Additionally, education and awareness about the legality and consequences of abusive remarks on social media are essential to deterring such behaviour.
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Offensive posts face rigorous assessment and public interest tests
Offensive social media posts are assessed on a case-by-case basis in the UK, with a rigorous evaluation of their content and context. While freedom of expression is important, the law draws a clear line between offensive content and credible threats, targeted harassment, or breaches of court orders. Offensive posts will only be pursued for prosecution if they are deemed contrary to the public interest.
The UK's approach to offensive online content aims to balance freedom of expression with the need to uphold criminal law. Offensive posts that constitute credible threats of violence, stalking, or harassment will be prosecuted. However, other offensive posts face a more nuanced assessment.
The public interest test considers whether the offensive content poses a risk of significant harm to individuals or communities. This includes hate crimes motivated by race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or transgender identity. The test also evaluates the potential impact on vulnerable groups, such as children, who are protected by the Online Safety Act 2023, which mandates social media companies to enforce age limits and shield children from harmful content.
The assessment of offensive posts also considers the intent and context behind the content. For example, satirical, iconoclastic, or rude content may be protected under freedom of expression, even if it offends certain individuals. Additionally, the expression of unpopular or unfashionable opinions about serious or trivial matters is generally allowed, as are banter and humour, provided they do not cross the line into credible threats or harassment.
While the law plays a crucial role in addressing offensive social media posts, it is not the only tool. Social media platforms also have a responsibility to cooperate with law enforcement, identify offenders, and enforce their acceptable use policies to prevent and remove offensive content.
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Credible threats of violence, stalking, or harassment are prosecutable
The UK's Online Safety Act 2023 is a new set of laws that protect children and adults online. It puts a range of new duties on social media companies and search services, making them more responsible for their users' safety on their platforms. The Act requires all companies to take robust action against illegal content and activity, including harassment, stalking, controlling or coercive behaviour, extreme pornography, and intimate image abuse.
The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and the Communications Act 2003 provide criminal offences for addressing online harassment. Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 makes it an offence to make improper use of a public electronic communications network. This includes communications that are grossly offensive, indecent, obscene, or menacing, as well as false or persistent messages sent to cause annoyance, inconvenience, or anxiety to another.
If you are experiencing credible threats of violence, stalking, or harassment online, you can report it to the social media company providing the service and to the police. Social media providers often have user policies and processes for reporting concerns. Additionally, the Online Safety Act requires platforms to implement measures to reduce the risks of their services being used for illegal activity and to remove illegal content when it appears.
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Social media companies are responsible for policing illegal content
In the UK, the Online Safety Act 2023 places a range of new duties on social media companies, making them more responsible for their users' safety on their platforms. The Act requires social media companies to enforce age limits consistently and protect their child users. It also applies to services that allow users to post content online or interact with each other, including social media services, consumer file cloud storage and sharing sites, video-sharing platforms, online forums, dating services, and instant messaging services.
The Act puts the onus on social media companies to implement systems and processes to reduce the risks of their services being used for illegal activity and to take down illegal content when it appears. This includes content that is grossly offensive, indecent, obscene, or menacing in nature, as well as content that constitutes credible threats of violence, stalking, or harassment. Social media companies are also required to rapidly remove illegal content related to suicide and self-harm and proactively protect users from such content.
While freedom of expression is important, the UK law strikes a balance between this freedom and the need to uphold criminal law. Social media companies play a crucial role in identifying and removing illegal content, cooperating with courts and law enforcement agencies to address online abuse and hate speech. They are responsible for ensuring that their platforms are not used to disseminate unlawful, libellous, harassing, discriminatory, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harmful, obscene, or racially offensive content.
To ensure compliance, Ofcom has established a dedicated task force to monitor small but risky platforms and enforce rapid action when necessary. Social media companies that fail to meet their obligations under the Online Safety Act may face legal consequences and scrutiny from regulatory bodies.
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The UK's Online Safety Act aims to protect children and adults online
The UK's Online Safety Act 2023 aims to protect children and adults online. The Act applies to any "user-to-user service", which includes social media platforms, messaging apps, search engines, gaming platforms, dating apps, and forums. Under the Act, these platforms have a duty of care to their users, especially children, to protect them from illegal and harmful content. This includes content relating to suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, pornography, violence, hate, abuse, bullying, and dangerous challenges.
To comply with the Act, platforms must introduce robust age-assurance measures, such as effective age verification technologies, to prevent children from accessing age-restricted content. They must also implement systems that allow users to filter out harmful content. Additionally, companies must regularly report on their compliance efforts and appoint a UK representative accountable for these efforts if they are based outside the UK. Ofcom, the UK's media and communications regulator, is responsible for enforcing the Act and can issue large fines or even block services from being available in the UK for non-compliance.
While the Act aims to protect users, particularly children, from harmful content, it has also faced criticism. Some argue that it grants the government extensive powers to regulate speech and pressure platforms into removing content without judicial oversight. There are also concerns about the potential for state-driven censorship and the undermining of users' privacy and freedom of speech. Tech firms have expressed concerns about the provisions pertaining to end-to-end encryption, with some suggesting they would withdraw from the UK market rather than weaken their encryption.
Prior to the Online Safety Act, there were already laws in place to address offensive social media posts. Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 makes it an offence to make improper use of a public electronic communications network, including communications that are grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene, or menacing character. However, investigating and prosecuting these offences can be challenging and time-consuming, often relying on the cooperation of social media platforms.
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Frequently asked questions
If something is posted because of hostility based on race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or transgender identity, it is considered a hate crime. This includes pictures, videos, descriptions, and music.
UK laws are written to ensure that people can speak and write freely without being prosecuted for their views, even if they are offensive. However, if a social media post includes credible threats of violence, stalking, controlling or coercive behaviour, extreme pornography, intimate image abuse, or breaches a court order, it is illegal and will result in prosecution.
Most websites have rules, known as 'acceptable use policies', that outline what content is not allowed on their platform. If you come across offensive or harmful content, you can report it to the platform. If the content is illegal or promotes terrorism, you should report it to the police.
