Several years ago as part of their bid to make the internet “safer”, ISPs in the UK announced that they would begin filtering out porn by default. The idea behind it was to prevent minors from accidentally stumbling across such content while on the internet, although as we have seen, even some of the best algorithms have trouble keeping up.Now it looks like they’ll be taking it further by introducing internet safety laws that are expected to be put into place in the next few years. This was announced by the country’s Digital Secretary Matt Hancock (via Engadget) in which according to their goal, will make the UK the safest place in the world to be online.
These new laws are expected to tackle various issues that we’ve been seeing on the internet for a while now, such as cyberbullying, child exploitation, extremism, and so on. The UK government is also expected to publish a white paper later this year that will set out the legislation, which will be done with the help of various ministries in the government, charities, as well as input from the public.
According to Hancock, “People increasingly live their lives through online platforms so it’s more important than ever that people are safe and parents can have confidence they can keep their children from harm. The measures we’re taking forward today will help make sure children are protected online and balance the need for safety with the great freedoms the internet brings just as we have to strike this balance offline.”