Online safety – why legislation is a kite dancing in a hurricane

While critics' ire at the UK's Online Safety Act – which received Royal Assent in October 2023 – is directed at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government, we should remind ourselves that it was a Conservative policy, with the Act coming into force nine months before Labour was elected.

So, it is perhaps fitting that this month's Westminster eForum on online safety is chaired by a Tory MP, Sir Jeremy Wright, KC, Member of the Security and Intelligence Committee, thus continuing the recent trend of Forums being overseen by elected representatives – sometimes from the ruling party.

Until this year, Westminster policy conferences are generally chaired by peers and feature closing keynotes by Departmental spokespeople, but that is increasingly not the case. So, is the UK Government evading scrutiny by not stating its policy views? Perhaps.

However, Wright – like Starmer, a King's Counsel (senior barrister) – has no intention of ...