Online safety bill: a messy new minefield in the culture wars

Analysis: Ofcom remains gatekeeper of big social networks, but moderators face multiple conundrums with the legislation

Moderation of online content is difficult. Social networks want to take down content that breaks their rules. They have to do it quickly enough that they do not get shouted at for leaving bad things up, but they have to do it accurately so that they do not get shouted at for taking the wrong things down.

In 2019 the UK government announced a plan to fix things. The intention of the online harms white paper was to apply pressure to social networks, to shift that dilemma. If social networks had rules against content that they did not enforce, they would get into legal trouble.