UK law
MPs warn online safety regime unable to tackle the spread of misinformation and cannot keep users safe online
The House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee has issued a report welcoming the Online Safety Act 2023 as a first step but warning that far more must be done to tackle online harm. The committee urges the government to base a new and improved online safety regime on five fundamental principles: public safety, free and safe expression, responsibility for content, control over content and data, and technological transparency. The Committee says that the OSA is already out of date as it fails to adequately address generative AI, and the report urges the government to pass legislation covering generative AI platforms. The report also highlights the committee’s concerns over the confusion between regulators and the government over the OSA’s role in regulating AI and the spread of misinformation. It says that the business models of social media companies encourage the algorithmic spread of engaging content, regardless of whether it is false or harmful. This has an effect across the entire online ecosystem. The Committee found a regulatory gap in this area, with platforms and advertisers ‘unable or unwilling’ to address the monetisation of false and harmful content. Finally, the OSA fails to address the algorithmic amplification of ‘legal but harmful content,’ The report sets out a way forward for the government to ensure that people in the UK can stay safe online and control what they see, by reducing incentives for the viral spread of misinformation, regulating generative AI, and placing much-needed new standards onto social media companies
Justice Select Committee launches new inquiry into access to justice
The House of Commons Justice Select Committee launched an inquiry last month which will examine the current state of the legal services and representation market, and how it, and associated operating pressures, affect access to justice. It will also look at the impact of those acting without legal advice and/or representation on access to justice and the ways in which the legal services and representation sector is adapting to secure access to justice across civil, criminal and family law. The inquiry will also assess potential new funding options and the scope for future innovations and potential adaptation of services, funding, regulation and technology to support access to justice.
Communications and Digital Committee publishes its report on media literacy
The Communications and Digital Committee has published its report on media literacy. It says that in an era when trust in news and institutions is low and audiences have access to ever-increasing volumes of content, being media literate is essential. However, it says that research suggests that the UK is falling behind in this area. Among other things, the Committee suggests that tech companies should be subject to a new levy to fund sustainable, independent media literacy initiatives. Ofcom should set out minimum standards for platforms on-platform media literacy activity and use its wider powers to understand how effective these activities are.
EU law
European Media Freedom Act now in force
The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) entered into application across the EU on 8August 2025. The EMFA is designed to strengthen media freedom, independence and pluralism within the E U’s internal market. It provides, among other things, stronger protection for journalists, aims to make sure that there is adequate funding and editorial freedom for public service media, prevents unwarranted removal of media content by very large online platforms and establishes the European Board for Media Services. Most provisions of EMFA now apply but some remaining ones relating to users’ rights to customise media offerings on devices and interfaces and control access to media services will enter into application on 8 May 2027.
