Media freedom and journalist safety in the UK Online Safety Act

In the digital era, journalists are targeted with online abuse including serious threats of violence. These censorship tactics are a direct threat to media freedom. Although the UK Government intended to tackle online abuse of journalists in the Online Safety Act 2023, provisions fit for that purpose never materialised. This paper reveals why that was the case and what can be done about it. It finds that there is ongoing tension in the press industry about press regulation, with implications for journalist safety; that the Government carved out special privileges for the press’ online content but did not similarly protect journalist digital safety; that journalist safety was largely ignored in Parliament; and that repeated Government disintegration and shifting policies stripped away provisions that could have been improved to better protect journalists. This paper concludes with suggestions for how journalist safety can be better protected in the OSA regime.

Main Findings

The article highlights significant gaps in the UK Online Safety Act (OSA), particularly regarding the protection of journalists from online abuse. While the OSA aims to regulate platforms and enforce accountability, the absence of specific provisions addressing journalist safety is concerning. The government's failure to include measures against the weaponisation of speech targeting journalists undermines media freedom and democracy. Despite evidence of the pervasive abuse faced by journalists, press lobby efforts focused on securing other benefits, neglecting the critical issue of journalist digital safety.

Policy recommendations/implications

The article suggests that Ofcom (the UK's Online Safety Act regulator) should implement guidance and codes of conduct to protect journalists under the existing Online Safety Act framework and that legislative improvements to the OSA regime would be helpful. Recommendations include regular risk assessments by platforms, specific reporting processes for journalists, tools to predict and prevent abuse, and providing data for researchers. Additional provisions could mandate the press to prevent the publication of abusive content in below-the-line comments sections of newspapers and offer resources for journalists as a workplace safety measure. These actions would help protect the media freedom interest of journalist safety, which is vital for democracy and the public interest.