Government strengthens Online Safety Act to crack down on revenge porn

The sharing of intimate images is to be made a priority offence under the incoming online safety rules, meaning sites must proactively tackle it.

The Online Safety Act is being strengthened, the Government said (PA) (PA Archive)

The sharing of revenge porn is to be classified as the most serious type of online offence under the Online Safety Act, meaning social media platforms will now have to take steps proactively to remove it, the Government has said.

The change to the law will see the sharing of intimate images without consent upgraded to be made a priority offence under the new online safety rules, which are due to come into force from spring next year.

Under the laws, material considered a priority offence – which also includes public order offences and the sale of weapons and drugs online – must not only be removed when it is found online, but platforms must also proactively remove it and take steps to prevent it from appearing in the first place – with large fines for those who fail to do so.

The Government said it hoped the crackdown would help drive the development of new and existing technologies to help keep people safer online, while also helping to tackle sexual offending and the normalisation of misogynistic material being shared online.

What I'm trying to do is, rather than just see action once an offence had been committed and the damage has been done to a victim, is to try and change behaviour that will prevent it happening in the first place

Peter Kyle

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said he hoped requiring social media platforms to take more proactive action would “drive behaviour change”.

He told the PA news agency: “What I’m trying to do is, rather than just see action once an offence had been committed and the damage has been done to a victim, is to try and change behaviour that will prevent it happening in the first place.

“Once this becomes a priority offence, social media companies and platforms themselves are going to have to take proactive measures to ensure their algorithms and their systems prevent this content from going live in the first place – so that will protect thousands, if not millions, of women in particular, from the degradation, the humiliation and the suffering that goes with this kind of activity.

“Secondly, they are going to have to prove that they are taking these measures, and that’s really important, so we can put the onus on them to proactively root out this content.

“Thirdly, they must take action where any content does make it on to their platform, and if they violate any of these rules they are open to a huge fine.

“Then of course, for those people who do create this content, we will have more powers to act against them as well, because that will be a criminal offence.

“I’m hoping that this will drive behaviour change that will prevent people having to suffer this experience in the first place, and then also just keep people safe from it.”

Mr Kyle said the introduction of the Online Safety Act would make safety an “unignorable issue” for social media companies, warning “they can no longer just look the other way or have other priorities”.

The Technology Secretary also confirmed he would be “introducing legislation on frontier AI in this Parliament”, saying he did not want to see “new products and innovations crash into society and being negatively disruptive” and it then taking a “long time for us as legislators and regulators to catch up”.

He also said he wants social media products to be tested before launch, telling Sky News his aim is for safety to be “baked in at the start of social media products before they land in society”.

He added: “We need to get to a point where there is more testing of these products before they make it out into society.”

In addition, Mr Kyle said he was examining the possibility of strengthening laws around misinformation in the wake of the violent disorder on Britain’s streets in August.

“I’m looking really closely at the role that online activity had in that period, and I want to make sure, as in every other area, including what we’re talking about today, that we’re fit for the future,” he told PA.

The Labour MP said he was “open-minded” about broadening online safety powers around placing criminal liability on named senior managers at social media firms in the event of severe breaches to online safety rules.

“I’m open-minded as to what powers need to evolve into the future and where liability rests,” he said.

“But I want it to be proportionate and I want it to be effective – I’m not interested in finger-pointing at people unnecessarily.

“What I want to do is drive and incentivise behaviour change among any company that has access to British society, so that it benefits society and that any risks are mitigated as much as possible.

“Any company that puts these principles first and foremost in a tangible way will find us a Government that is totally on their side and will partner with them to make sure that every British citizen can benefit from their products, but also the jobs and wealth that is created from them.

“But those that don’t prioritise those principles will find us an ever assertive force when it comes to keeping people safer.”