UK Proposal Could See Tech Executives Imprisoned for Neglecting to Safeguard Children

Tech executives in the U.K. could face jail time for breaching online safety standards under a proposal that has been agreed to by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government. The proposal was put forward by Conservative lawmakers who sought to amend the Online Safety Bill.

The new legislation is designed to make the internet safer for kids by enforcing age verification requirements and putting more responsibility on tech platforms to shield minors from harmful content. This is a highly anticipated bill that has been in the works for some time, and it is hoped that it will help make the internet a safer place for kids to explore and learn.

The latest agreement could mean severe punishment for company leaders who deliberately fail to protect kids from online harm. Michelle Donelan, the U.K.’s secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said in a statement Tuesday that the changes “deliver our shared aims of holding people accountable for their actions in a way which is effective and targeted towards child safety, whilst ensuring the UK remains an attractive place for technology companies to invest and grow.”

Conservative lawmakers have proposed an amendment that would impose criminal liability on senior managers for failing to meet child safety requirements. Donelan said in the statement that she is sympathetic to the aims of the amendment, but believes the bill already includes other provisions for holding senior managers accountable.

Even so, she noted, the final amendment will be crafted to target instances where senior managers have knowingly ignored enforceable requirements, risking serious harm to children.

Penalties for criminal activity would include imprisonment and fines that are proportional to the severity of the offense, she said.

Donelan said that while this amendment will not affect those who have acted in good faith to comply in a proportionate way, it gives the Act additional teeth to deliver change and ensure that people are held to account if they fail to properly protect children.

Critics of the legislation argue that the age verification requirements could lead to invasions of privacy and have a chilling effect on speech.

Bills that would protect children in similar ways have also been introduced in the United States with bipartisan support. California has passed its own Age-Appropriate Design Code, modeled after U.K. guidelines, that similarly puts more responsibility on platforms to protect kids from online harms.

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