The social network has denounced the “oppressive” approach to British regulators to enforce the law, which must be used to better protect children.
The British government said on Saturday that its new online security law, which should be used to better protect children, is not intended to “Censor the political debate”after the strong criticism of social network X. According to a spokesperson, it is “Obviously false” To say that these measures, which require sites and platforms to verify the age of their users who want to access pornographic or suicide content, go “Compromise freedom of expression”.
“This law is not designed to censor political debate and does not oblige platforms to restrict age access to any content other than those presenting the most serious risks for children”he defended. The Multimillionaire Network Elon Musk had denounced the approach on Friday «oppressive» British regulators to enforce the law, and affirmed that the new measures will only lead to “An additional limitation of freedom of expression”.
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Since July 25, websites, social networks and video sharing platforms must implement strict age checks to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content. The British media regulator, OFCOM has already announced Thursday that it has launched a survey to verify that 34 pornographic sites and platforms respected the new rules.
“Several months to prepare”
These measures are part of the law «Online safety act»adopted in 2023, which also requires the deletion of content promoting eating disorders, suicidal ideas and self -control. “The platforms have had several months to prepare for this law. They do not serve their users by hiding behind deadlines to justify not having implemented it properly ”retorted the British government on Saturday.
Moreover, “This same law establishes clear and unequivocal obligations for platforms in order to protect freedom of expression”continued his spokesperson. In the event of non-compliance, platforms are exposed to fines of up to 18 million pounds (more than 20 million euros), or 10% of their global turnover if this amount is higher. In the most serious cases, OFCOM will be able to seize justice to block access to the site or the platform concerned from the British territory.
