A proposed law for policing the internet could silence debate on discussion forums including the popular parenting website Mumsnet, its founder warned last night.
Justine Roberts, CEO of Mumsnet, urged Ministers to make changes to the proposed Online Safety Bill amid fears it could lead to 'censorship'.
Her call comes amid mounting concern from campaigners, lawyers and politicians that the legislation will have a catastrophic impact on free speech in the UK.
The draft Bill will impose a so-called 'duty of care' on tech giants including Facebook, Twitter and Google to remove any content that could cause 'psychological harm'.
The new system will be policed by the regulator Ofcom, which will have the power to impose fines of up to £18 million on firms.
A proposed law for policing the internet could silence debate on discussion forums including the popular parenting website Mumsnet, its founder warned last night. Justine Roberts (left), CEO of Mumsnet, urged Ministers to make changes to the proposed Online Safety Bill amid fears it could lead to 'censorship'
But critics warn the definition of 'harmful' is too vague and that faced with the prospect of fines, tech firms could design algorithms that will simply erase comments that could be deemed controversial or offensive.
People could be prevented from commenting on a range of issues – from transgender rights to Brexit – because under the legislation, the tech giants policing the internet could delete them.
Mumsnet has already been targeted by activists. The Mail on Sunday revealed in 2019 how margarine brand Flora stopped advertising on the platform after a 'handful' of transgender activists complained the site was transphobic.
Ms Roberts said the Government has told her that firms 'using their best endeavours to protect users will not suffer ill effects'.
But she added: 'However, it's obviously a concern that we don't yet know what will be defined as constituting "psychological harm" or other kinds of "legal but harmful" speech, and we urge the Government to bring forward their definitions before this legislation goes much further.
The draft Bill will impose a so-called 'duty of care' on tech giants including Facebook, Twitter and Google to remove any content that could cause 'psychological harm'. The new system will be policed by the regulator Ofcom, which will have the power to impose fines of up to £18million on firms
'If they don't, there's a risk that litigants will feel emboldened to force platforms such as Mumsnet to censor perfectly valid freedom of expression.'
One Mumsnet user described the Bill as 'legislation designed to shut women up'.
It comes as the MoS can reveal the influence of Scottish charity Carnegie UK Trust in drawing up the measures.
For three years William Perrin, a former adviser to Tony Blair and a board member of Carnegie, has been working on the proposals along with Professor Lorna Woods, of the University of Essex, and Maeve Walsh, a former senior civil servant once in charge of Digital Strategy at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
Earlier this year, Mr Perrin wrote that the Government's proposals were 'based upon principles and detailed work' put forward by the trust.
This work has been bankrolled by Luminate, an organisation founded by eBay creator Pierre Omidyar. Luminate gave Carnegie £264,000 to help 'engage the expertise' of Prof Woods and Ms Walsh.
Carnegie UK Trust defended its work, saying: 'It has been endorsed by three parliamentary committees. None have suggested that a duty of care amounts to censorship.'
