Success for CAA as new draft Online Safety Bill retains key legal provision to fight against antisemitism on the web

Campaign Against Antisemitism has applauded the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary for listening to our concerns and retaining a legal provision that is critical to the fight against antisemitism on the web in the new draft of the much-anticipated Online Safety Bill.

We have had numerous calls and meetings with Michelle Donelan, some of which also included other Jewish communal partners.

We have particularly worked to ensure that the latest iteration of the ground-breaking legislation, for which we have long called, retains the criminal offence under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003. We have more experience than most in utilising this provision, which protects victims of abusive communications, including those who target people because they are Jewish.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “During the development of this legislation, we have made representations both for provisions that we would like to see included and taken out. We are grateful that the Government has listened to our suggestions and that the draft Online Safety Bill includes tough measures to regulate social media platforms. We are also pleased that it adopts our request to retain the criminal offence under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003. We have more experience than most in utilising this provision, which protects victims of abusive communications, including those who target people because they are Jewish. A previous draft of the bill eliminated this offence, which would have made it even harder to combat antisemitism online.

“Regulating the internet was always going to be an extremely difficult legislative task. We applaud the Secretary of State for DCMS for engaging widely with stakeholders and producing legislation that promises to hold online abusers and internet giants to account at last.”