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Free Expression, Government Surveillance

CDT Comments to UK Parliament on the UK Online Safety Bill

Coauthored by CDT intern Jessie Miller

The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) submitted written evidence to the UK Parliament’s House of Commons Public Bill Committee regarding the Online Safety Bill (OSB), which is currently pending. Our comments reflect the fact that the OSB is meant to address very serious problems — including terrorism, and child sexual exploitation and abuse.

However, its proposed requirement to filter harmful but legal content threatens the right to freedom of expression, and its proposed requirement to scan private communications for child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) material would undermine the availability of end-to-end encrypted technologies. CDT encouraged the UK Parliament to remove these two obligations, and suggested mitigations if the scanning requirement for private communications was to be retained.

From the comments:

While CDT appreciates the gravity of the problems that the OSB is meant to address, its filtering mandates will threaten the right to freedom of expression and undermine the availability of end-to-end encrypted technologies.

…As currently drafted, the OSB casts proportionality aside by constructing a robust and intrusive system of mandated mass surveillance and censorship.

Read the full comments here.