UK Moves To Give Regulators Power To Fine Internet Companies 5% Of Revenue If They Can't Wave A Magic Wand And Make Bad Content Disappear
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20190812/16392242762/uk-moves-to-give-regulators-power-to-fine-internet-companies-5-revenue-if-they-cant-wave-magic-wand-make-bad-content-disappear.shtml
While in theory the UK is supposed to be leaving the EU soon, it's still technically a part of it, and now appears to be implementing the AVMSD (Audiovisual Media Services Directive) which was agreed to last year. One section of the agreement talks about "protection of minors" and like pretty much all "think of the children" type regulations, it's full of moral panics and impossible demands. While the Directive looks like it was designed for professionally broadcast content, apparently the UK has determined that it should apply to all online video, and the UK Parliament "quietly approved" a plan to give its media regulatory body, Ofcom, the power to fine social media companies up to 5% of their revenue if they can't magically make stuff that "might seriously impair" minors disappear from the internet.
Of course, content that "might seriously impair" minors seems widely open to interpretation -- which almost certainly means over-censorship. But, it appears that Ofcom doesn't think it's a big deal at all: