Football’s anti-discriminatory body Kick It Out is set to be given extra powers as a “super-complainant” under a new law designed to accelerate complaints about online hate speech directly to Ofcom.
The Online Safety Act, which was given Royal Assent on Thursday, also makes social media platforms directly accountable for tackling racist and discriminatory abuse — with them facing heavy fines if they fail to do so.
Sanjay Bhandari, Kick It Out’s chairman who has co-ordinated football’s contribution to the law, said footballers often received hundreds of racist and discriminatory messages after high-profile incidents. Super-complainants will also be able to report new trends in online abuse.
“We anticipate Kick It Out will get a role as a ‘super-complainant’, which will give us the ability to accelerate complaints to Ofcom if there is a significant outbreak of abuse or there is a change in the type of abuse,” Bhandari said.
“For example, there has recently been an increase in the number of abusive video and audio messages sent to players’ direct messages, which is a new trend. We would have the right to present themes to Ofcom, to get them to focus on issues.
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“There is a provision that certain ‘super-complainants’ will be able to highlight to Ofcom any recurring themes that are not being dealt with by the platforms.”
Bhandari believes the Online Safety Act, which will be introduced over the next 18 months, will force social media platforms to act on abuse. Any hate speech that is unlawful would be covered by the new act.
“The biggest difference is for the first time, social media companies will be held accountable,” he added. “It’s clear where the accountability is going to be.
“For too long social media has been a lawless jungle. We have seen with incidents such as missed penalties or sendings-off that black footballers can get hundreds of discriminatory messages.
“After the Euro 2020 final Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho received enormous amounts of racist abuse, as did France players in the World Cup after the penalty shoot-out against Argentina.
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“Now there is the threat of quite stringent punishments — fines of up to 10 per cent of relevant turnover for the platforms, up to Ofcom suspending their operations.
“Social media platforms will also be forced to provide user empowerment tools that can filter out discriminatory content. That is the key to maintaining freedom of speech at the same time as ensuring freedom from abuse.”
Bhandari said that Kick It Out would be requesting urgent meetings with the social media giants to urge them to bring in the new online protection.
“We will be holding their feet to the fire on providing those tools as quickly as possible,” he said.
The new act has also been welcomed by the FA, Premier League, EFL and PFA.
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Non-discriminatory abuse could also be covered by the new act, if it is seen as organised harassment. Tom Curry, the England rugby union flanker, was the target of sustained abuse on social media after making a complaint he had been called a “white c***” by South Africa’s hooker, Bongi Mbonamni, during last Saturday’s World Cup semi-final. World Rugby has ruled there was insufficient evidence to take action.
Q&A: The Online Safety Act
How will the new Online Safety Act help to tackle online abuse?
Social media companies will be directly responsible for the content on their platforms and can face heavy fines for failing to act or to monitor discriminatory content. These can be up to 10 per cent of “relevant revenue” — for example UK revenue over the past year. In 2022, the global turnover of Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) was $116 billion (about £96 billion) and the turnover of Twitter was $4.4 billion.
What kind of abuse will be covered?
Anything that is classed as illegal hate speech, including racist and homophobic language. It can also apply to emojis and pictures.
Are there any other requirements for social media platforms?
Yes. They must provide users with online tools to filter out language and content that may not be illegal but is still offensive.
How will abuse from outside the UK be dealt with?
As it is difficult to prosecute users overseas, the obligation will be on the platforms to monitor content. Australia, the United States and the European Union are considering similar laws.
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What about anonymous users? Will they be forced to provide ID?
No. The reason is some people use anonymity on social media for their own protection, for example in countries where human rights are restricted or homosexuality is illegal. Under the act, platforms must offer the option for users to verify their own identity and the option for users to avoid unverified accounts.
Will this cover abuse such as player pile-ons?
If harassment is encouraged by individual accounts, that may constitute an offence, but most general abuse, such as about a player’s performance, is not covered and can only be managed through muting or blocking.
