The Government has today announced amendments to the Online Safety Bill, which will force social media companies to ask foreign propaganda outlets and extremist publishers which qualify as "news publishers" before removing their content from social media.

Commenting, Hacked Off Chief Executive Nathan Sparkes said,

“The Government now plans to ban Twitter and Facebook from removing dangerous content posted by racists and propagandists which qualify as "news publishers" from their platforms unless they are first given a right of appeal. “This bill has descended into farce, veering between a draconian regime handing chilling powers to the Secretary of State while giving a licence to Russian propagandists, racists and misogynists to spread disinformation and hatred with impunity.“These amendments prove that this Government, in its dying hours, will stop at nothing to satisfy the interests of the national press, who stand to benefit from these provisions alongside a raft of dangerous and harmful websites.“The public deserve better and will see through this desperate, last-gasp attempt to retain press support ahead of the possibility of a general election.”

ENDSpress@hackinginquiry.org