The UK Online Safety Bill Must Not Violate Our Rights to Free Speech And Private Communication

As the UK’s Online Safety Bill moves through negotiations in the House of Lords, EFF, Open Rights Group, Wikimedia UK, and Index on Censorship have submitted a briefing urging the Lords to uphold the right to private messaging, and protect against prior restraint of lawful speech.

Clause 110 of the bill requires websites and apps to proactively prevent harmful content from appearing on messaging services. This will mandate the screening of all user content, all the time. It’s not compatible …