Labour Can't Decide What It's Doing With The Internet
While Keir Starmer's comms team is now briefing influencers on government policies, his ministers are cracking down on harmful online content – and facing accusations of mass censorship at the same time.
On Thursday afternoon, the prime minister will be hosting a reception for up to 90 influencers in Downing Street, who reportedly have a combined following of a quarter of a billion followers and have already been chatting to No.10 over the last year.
Invitees allegedly include cookbook author Chetna Makan and former Love Island contestant now anti-revenge porn campaigner Georgia Harrison, along with other TikTok stars and YouTubers.
This move has been criticised and praised in equal measure. While a handful of online users claim no serious influencer would want to be associated with this government, some political pundits claim it is a sign that Downing Street is finally getting with the 21st Century.
And that may be true: Ofcom recently found 82% of 16 to 24-year-olds use social media for news, along with 28% of people aged over 55.
This online-first attitude also seems to be rewarding their largest electoral threat, Nigel Farage, who has 1.3 million followers on TikTok and is currently leading in the opinion polls by a healthy margin.
But, at the same time, the government has just rolled out its Online Safety Act, rather undermining their new approach to the web, as critics have pointed out.
Meant to protect children by putting age restrictions on various sites, the legislation has created an uproar in some quarters over fears it would create mass censorship and political debate – while also making it harder to monitor online risks for kids.
That's because there's been a huge uptick in the use of virtual private networks (VPNs), which allow people to circumvent the age restrictions by masking a user's identity.
Data from the Age Verification Providers Association also found an additional five million online age checks a day are being carried out because of the new legislation.
Fears that the Act is too broad and vague in its definitions of 'harmful content' have fuelled further concerns that it will force adults to share personal data with global porn sites – paving the way for mass data breaches in a dangerous overreach.
Then there's the ramifications that come with putting up barriers online.
Starmer even had to laugh off warnings from Donald Trump earlier this week over fears the new law would limit access to his website, Truth Social.
Reform UK have leapt on the opportunity to attack Labour, claiming it would completely tear up the legislation – although the party has confirmed it has no new ideas to protect children from the worst corners of the internet.
Still, their debate spiralled out of control when the technology secretary Peter Kyle claimed Farage's criticism indicated he would have been on the same side as the late prolific sexual predator Jimmy Savile. The Reform UK leader has since asked for an apology.
Of course, plenty of people are in favour of the legislation, which has been quietly worked on by successive governments.
The suicide prevention group, the Molly Rose Foundation, noted: 'The Online Safety Act will help save young lives.'
The organisation's CEO Andy Burrows pointed out there has been strong cross-party consensus to protect children online in the past.
Scrapping it altogether would actually 'go against what Reform voters think,' he told LBC, noting that more than seven in 10 people who voted Reform at the last election want to keep and even strengthen the Act.
Meanwhile, Chris Sherwood from the charity NPSCC wrote in PoliticsHome that 'it's deeply concerning to see the rhetoric around the Online Safety Act shift toward loss of free expression.'
The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology told HuffPost UK: 'The Online Safety Act is the biggest step change in children's online safety since the internet began.
'It protects young people from harmful content and holds platforms and tech companies to account.
'This is about creating a safer internet – not censoring it – where children can explore, learn and connect without fear of what's behind the next swipe.'
But can Labour really expect a positive reception by using influencers to spread its message while fending off accusations of censorship?
Only time will tell if the government can have its cake and eat it too.
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