The Online Safety Bill 2018 has been presented in parliament this morning by the standing committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights to be put to debate, voted upon and be passed at a later time.
Committee chair, Ashneel Sudhakar says the two month deliberations and consultations held with a wide range of people has been tabled to the August House for final say.
Sudhakar says the committee considered points raised by submitters and attempted to reflect the impact and benefits of the bill on men and women equally.
“The committee also took into consideration the best impact on gender and noted including from the submissions received the impact of hateful and harmful electronic communication and posting of intimate visual recordings disproportionately impacts women and children as victims.”
If passed, the Bill will promote the responsible use of social media and all new communication tools… so that hateful and harmful content images and messages can be removed.
The Bill aims to promote online safety as there are increased reports of harmful online behaviours including cyberbullying, cyber stalking, Internet trolling and exposure to offensive or harmful content, particularly in respect of children.
