If content on social media platforms depicting cruelty to animals is not removed, companies could face fines of up to £18 million.
The most recent amendment to the Online Safety Bill is the result of an investigation that was conducted by BBC Eye.
The study conducted by Monkey Haters, which led to the discovery of a global monkey torture ring, was cited as an excellent illustration by the ministers as to why the revisions were essential.
It is anticipated that the bill, which seeks to regulate behavior on the internet, will be passed into law this fall.
A new addition to the bill will classify films depicting animal cruelty as a “priority offence,” bringing it into line with other “priority offenses” such as revenge porn, sexual abuse of children, and threats to kill.
According to the new suggestions, social media companies will be subject to fines of up to 10% of their total yearly revenue around the world if they do not take proactive measures to combat illegal content and get it deleted.
An investigation conducted by BBC Eye over the course of a year found a cruel global ring of monkey torture that stretched from Indonesia to the United States.
A journalist from the BBC went undercover and joined a private group on the messaging app Telegram, where hundreds of people from the United States and the United Kingdom were plotting, crowdsourcing, commissioning, and finally paying for films of young monkeys being tortured and killed by people in Indonesia.
A former member of the United States Air Force has been charged with a crime in the United States, and more than 20 other persons are being looked into. Two males have been sentenced to prison in Indonesia, and three women have been detained and then released pending further inquiry in the United Kingdom.
YouTube issued a statement saying that it had banned hundreds of thousands of videos because the site had “no place” for videos depicting cruelty to animals. According to Telegram’s statement, its moderators are unable to proactively patrol private groups. On social media, abusive monkey groups are still very much alive and well.
The research conducted by BBC Eye shed light on the extent to which social media platforms may be exploited to generate revenue for the cruel treatment of animals.
The Secretary of Technology, Michelle Donelan, stated that the action in question was “deeply disturbing,” and that the bill will now go beyond its original purpose of protecting children to “stop the proliferation of animal abuse, too.”
She stated that “the diligent investigative work of the BBC revealed a dark underbelly of our internet that pushes its sadistic criminal activity to everyday people.” “The investigation work of the BBC revealed a dark underbelly of our internet that revealed”
David Bowles, who works with the RSPCA, expressed his satisfaction with the proposal and expressed optimism that it would be approved.
“It’s deeply upsetting and disheartening just how widespread animal abuse videos and imagery are becoming,” he added, “and with young people spending so much time online, it can be incredibly challenging for parents and guardians to monitor the content they are seeing.” “It’s deeply unsettling and disheartening just how widespread animal abuse videos and imagery are becoming.”
According to Nicola O’Brien, the lead co-ordinator of the Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition (SMACC), which includes the RSPCA and Action for Primates as members, the proposed amendment would “put a stronger emphasis on the platforms to take responsibility and stop providing a literal platform for animal abusers.” She also stated that the platforms do not do enough to prevent the sharing of content across their sites at the present time.
The Dogs Trust expressed its hope to the BBC that in the future the government will go further and expressly combat damaging pet advertising practices on social media and classified ad sites. This wish was expressed in response to a question regarding the organization’s hope.
The much-delayed Online Safety Bill, which is a new set of legislation aimed at protecting children and adults online, is scheduled to become law the following month. This bill is part of a new set of laws.
Its purpose is to force social media platforms to take a more active role in ensuring the security of their users while they are on those sites.
But the computer giants of Silicon Valley have fought back against some of the suggestions, and the government claimed this week that it was abandoning plans to compel applications to read the private messages of its users.
Platforms such as WhatsApp, Signal, and iMessage have threatened to leave the United Kingdom rather than compromise the security of its users’ messages. These platforms claim they are unable to access or monitor the messages of any user without compromising the existing privacy protections for all users.
This week, when it resumes its work in the House of Commons on Tuesday, September 12, the members of parliament will consider making any necessary last-minute amendments to the legislation.
