UK PM bows to demands to make tech chiefs liable for online harm

The bill – in development for almost six years, under seven Conservative secretaries of state – is aimed at curbing harms on any site or app which lets users interact, from social media to search engines. — Image by Freepik

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to accept the demands of party rebels to make directors at major technology firms liable to greater penalties if they fail to protect children from dangerous online content as he seeks to avoid a damaging defeat in parliament, according to two people familiar with the government’s plans.

Sunak’s partial climbdown on key legislation came in the face of a planned rebellion from within his ruling Conservative Party, with about 50 Tory lawmakers supporting an amendment designed to toughen the Online Safety Bill.