Richard Holden MP spoke today in the House on the Government's commitment to tackling racist abuse online, following the unacceptable treatment of the England football team.
Appalled by the abuse of the England team and committed to taking on the problem early, the Government has introduced the Online Safety Bill.
The Bill, currently in draft form, will clamp down on racist abuse online. It intends to establish in law a new statutory duty of care on companies towards their users, overseen by Ofcom, the UK's independent communications regulator. Ofcom will set clear safety standards, backed up by mandatory reporting requirements and strong enforcement powers (including fines of up to £18 million or ten per cent of annual global turnover, whichever is higher) to deal with non-compliance.
Richard Holden MP supports this Bill as it comes through and today called for an all-Party approach to send the clear message that racism is unacceptable.