UK Gov't Says Considering Empowering Media Watchdog With Censoring Social Media Content

Umer Jamshaid Published August 12, 2019 | 06:20 PM

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th August, 2019) The UK government is considering plans to empower media watchdog Ofcom with regulating content on social media, a spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said on Monday.

"The directive proposed a number of appropriate measures to protect minors and the general public from harmful content. The government has proposed that Ofcom is given interim powers to regulate video-sharing platform services and ensure they comply with minimum standards set out in the AVMSD (Audiovisual Media Services Directive) by the transposition deadline - 19 September 2020. We are currently consulting on this approach," the DCMS spokesperson said, as quoted by the Sky news broadcaster.

The AVMSD is an EU guideline aimed at coordination of national laws for online media content.

However, after the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the bloc, which is now due to happen in less than three months, London may adopt its own legislation with a scope wider that the AVMSD, as well as create a new media watchdog to replace Ofcom, the spokesperson added.

In April, the UK government unveiled a proposed set of tough online safety laws which will penalize social media platforms if they fail to protect users from harmful content.