UK and Australian Governments Sign “world-first” Online Safety and Security Memorandum of Understanding
On 20 February 2024, the UK Government and the Australian Federal Government co-signed a historic Online Safety and Security Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signifying the bilateral cooperation between the two countries to help boost their respective online safety regimes. Notably, this is the first arrangement of its kind, with the MoU intending to encompass a wide range of digital online safety and security issues. These include illegal content, child safety, age assurance, technology facilitated gender-based violence, and addressing harms caused by rapidly evolving technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence.
UK’s OfCom to Publish Guidance on Illegal Content Risk Assessments in Light of Online Safety Bill
The UK’s Online Safety Bill (“Bill”), once legislated, will impose duties of care on providers of digital services, social media platforms and other online services to make them responsible for content generated and shared by their users and to mitigate the risk of harm arising from illegal content, and if services are deemed accessible by children, a duty to protect children from harm. As currently drafted, the Bill applies to any service or site that has users in the UK, or targets the UK as a market, even if it is not based in the country. The Bill is currently at the Committee Stage of the legislative process. Although the Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent during 2023, the timeline as to when the provisions will come into force is still unclear.
