UK Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan has defended the deletion of a clause in the online safety bill to control "legal but harmful" digital content, despite criticism from Molly Russell's father, who called it a "watering down" of the legislation.

Free Speech Concerns

After members of parliament voiced concerns about free speech, ministers revoked the clause.

According to an article by The Guardian, Donelan alternatively argued that platforms should be held accountable for enforcing their own terms of service, which would have covered objectionable information that does not amount to a criminal offense.

Office of Communications, or Ofcom, will have the authority to guarantee that the rules are appropriately policed if they ban material that does not reach the level of crime, such as certain types of abuse.

In addition to resuming its parliamentary journey on Dec. 5, following a hiatus in July, the bill also includes extra child protection safeguards. Generally, the law makes digital companies responsible for protecting minors from inappropriate material.

See Also: UK Government Comes Under Fire For Supposedly Failing to Safeguard Children from Online Harm

Russell's Point of View

After the hearing into the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who died after seeing substantial quantities of harmful content on Instagram and Pinterest in 2017, the law was amended to make it a crime to urge others to commit acts of self-harm. 

"Downblousing" and nonconsensual "deepfake" pornography will likewise be made illegal.

According to reports, on Tuesday, Nov. 29, Molly's father, Ian, said on Radio 4's Today program that social media firms should have a responsibility to restrict lawful but harmful material.

He said that eliminating a provision cannot be seen as anything other than watering it down.

Donelan's Approach

Donelan, however, said that she would argue in favor of removing the section, which she claimed was blocking further development of the bill.

"It had very, very concerning impact, potentially, on free speech," she told Sky News, as reported by The Guardian. 

"There were unintended consequences associated with it. It was really the anchor that was preventing this bill from getting off the ground.

A new gray area between illegal and legal has been created, according to the politician, and this is not what a government should be doing. 

She called the situation "confusing." She added that it would only make the internet a place where a separate set of norms applies than in the real world.

However, Donelan assured it would not affect the content that minors encountered online. She said, "The whole point around this bill fundamentally is about protecting children," on the Today show.

"That's why the first thing that I did when I became secretary of state is defying what everybody said was impossible and actually strengthen this bill for children. We're going further when it comes to children. I also said, look, if we all agree things should be illegal, let's make them illegal," she recalled.

See Also: Civil Society Warns Against the 'Kids Online Safety Act' | Will it Pose Further Danger to Youth?

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Written by Trisha Kae Andrada