Social media bosses including Mark Zuckerberg could be personally hit with huge fines for harmful content hosted on their sites, leaked UK legal plans reveal

• The online harm white paper is expected to be released by ministers on Monday 
• It will impose a duty of care on social media companies to protect their users 
• Independent regulator will be able to fine companies and executives personally 

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Mark Zuckerberg and other social media bosses could be hit with huge personal fines if their websites do not remove harmful content, leaked government plans have revealed.  

The online harm white paper, which is expected to be released by UK ministers on Monday, will impose a duty of care on social media companies, to be monitored by an independent regulator.

This regulator will be able to impose huge fines on companies who breach the duty of care and will even be able to hold executives, like Zuckerberg, personally liable.

The move follows the public outcry over cases such as that of Molly Russell, the 14-year-old who took her life in 2017 after viewing self-harm images on Instagram and other sites. 

The online harm white paper could force social media executives like Mark Zuckerberg to pay fines for harmful content

The legislation will be wide-ranging and will also apply to search engines, online messaging services and websites that host files. 

This would mean newspaper websites and services such as Mumsnet and TripAdvisor would be forced to sign up to the regulator. 

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The home secretary, Sajid Javid, and the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, Jeremy Wright, both write in the foreword and say that ‘it is time to move beyond self-regulation and set clear standards, backed up by enforcement powers’.    

Several other proposals are also believed to be included in the new legislation.

Molly Russell, 14, from Harrow in north-west London, took her own life in 2017 after viewing content on social media platforms that promoted self-harm

They include the ability of the government to intervene and dictate to the regulator on issues like terrorism or child sexual abuse.

Social media companies will also be required to produce transparency reports once a year, which reveal the amount of harmful content on their sites, as well as the measures they have taken to fight against it. 

Police and other agencies will also be able to work with social media companies to tackle illegal activities.  

More generally, companies will have to follow a code of practice and also show that they are making their platform safer.

They must also have a clear policy for users who have suffered any kind of harm on their platforms.  

The home secretary, Sajid Javid, wrote in the foreword that ‘it is time to move beyond self-regulation and set clear standards, backed up by enforcement powers’

The white paper also looks at the ‘fake news phenomena’ and any code of practice is also likely to tackle that.   

Social media companies will be required to use fact-checking services, particularly during election periods, and also make political advertising more obvious. 

The plans have been delayed on several occasions and have come under criticism. 

The Adam Smith Institute think-tank warned that such rules would threaten Britain’s status as a free society.

Head of research Matthew Lesh said: ‘These proposals are a historic attack on freedom of speech and the free press, the very core of Britain’s liberal democratic foundations.

‘At a time when Britain is criticising violations of freedom of expression in states like Iran, China and Russia, we should not be undermining our freedom at home.’

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