Tories back fight to JAIL social media chiefs who don't tackle abuse

Tories back fight to JAIL web chiefs of social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter and TikTok if they fail to crack down on harmful content

  • Web giants to come under attack from MPs, children’s charities and top Tories
  • Campaigners will lobby Government to include tough criminal penalties for chiefs of social media firms in its flagship Online Harms Bill 
  • MoS can reveal Labour is already plotting to join forces with backbench Tory MPs to push through changes to Bill, which will be unveiled in Queen’s Speech
  • Campaigners argue multi-million-pound fines won’t be enough to make tech giants such as Facebook – which owns Instagram and WhatsApp – crack down on dangerous posts, racism and child abuse

Social-media giants are set to come under ferocious attack from MPs, children’s charities and top Tories who want bosses to serve prison sentences if they fail to crack down on harmful content.

Campaigners are gearing up to lobby the Government to include tough criminal penalties for the chiefs of firms such as Facebook, Twitter and TikTok in its flagship Online Harms Bill. 

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Labour is already plotting to join forces with backbench Tory MPs to push through changes to the Bill, which will be unveiled in the Queen’s Speech this month.

Critics claim the proposed legislation was watered down last year after the internet giants expressed ‘concerns’. 

Social-media giants are set to come under ferocious attack from MPs, children’s charities and top Tories who want bosses to serve prison sentences if they fail to crack down on harmful content


Campaigners are gearing up to lobby the Government to include tough criminal penalties for the chiefs of firms such as Facebook, Twitter and TikTok in its flagship Online Harms Bill

The campaigners argue that current plans for multi-million-pound fines will not be enough to make tech giants such as Facebook – which owns Instagram and WhatsApp – crack down on dangerous posts, racism and child abuse.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) told the MoS it is gearing up to launch a huge drive to convince MPs that tougher rules for bosses are vital. 

And last night former Culture Secretary Baroness Nicky Morgan threw her weight behind the campaign, saying that making bosses personally culpable for failing to tackle abuse would ‘focus minds’.

Andy Burrows, policy expert at the NSPCC, said: ‘Unless we see the Bill when it goes into the Commons substantially strengthened in this area [of bosses being held personally liable for online harms], then we certainly intend to ensure we throw everything we can at this.

‘The stakes could not be higher for children and young people.

‘If the ambition of this bill is truncated, then there will be grooming that we could have prevented.’

Last night former Culture Secretary Baroness Nicky Morgan threw her weight behind the campaign, saying that making bosses personally culpable for failing to tackle abuse would ‘focus minds’

Ms Morgan, who worked on the Online Harms Bill before handing over to current Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden last year, said: ‘When you have senior individuals whose personal liability is on the line – as well as personal reputation – I do think that focuses minds.

‘A similar regime was brought into the City after the financial crisis to change the culture, to make the senior people realise that they themselves had real skin in the game, and personal liability for decisions made by the companies and by others.

‘People were worried it would be used all the time, and it hasn’t been. What it’s actually done is it stops problems brewing before they get to being public, or it’s shaped boardroom discussions in ways that we would like to see happen in the tech company boardrooms too.’

Shadow Culture Secretary Jo Stevens said: ‘The Government’s decision to water down its legislative proposals to hold back on criminal sanctions will continue to put children at risk. What’s more important here is the safety of children not keeping global tech giants happy.’

Campaigners said social media giants are particularly concerned about the measures proposed in Britain. They said other countries were likely to copy British legislation.

The Government floated the idea of making bosses criminally liable in its initial plan published in April 2019. But the policy was removed in updated plans last December.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has said the Government will only introduce criminal sanctions if fines are not effective. The Government has said it stepped back from the threat of criminal sanctions over ‘industry concerns’ about the policy.

A spokesman for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport said: ‘Our groundbreaking Online Safety Bill will force online companies to protect their users or face tough sanctions, including large fines.

‘It will include powers to make senior managers criminally liable.’

Campaigners said social media giants are particularly concerned about the measures proposed in Britain. They said other countries were likely to copy British legislation

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