Jewish community left frustrated by online safety legislation, says Margaret Hodge

Dame Margaret Hodge has warned that the “hope that the Jewish community had” that the government’s Online Safety Bill “would give us some respite from the torrent of antisemitic abuse” has been “thwarted.”

She told MPs in the Commons:”People like me are left with a sense of bitterness that our suffering has to be tolerated because of some ideological, misplaced, flawed and ill-thought-out interpretation of freedom of speech.”

The Labour MP and Jewish Labour Movement’s parliamentary chair spoke during Tuesday’s debate on further amendments to the long awaited legislation aimed at countering online hate, and making social media platform bosses responsible for failure to stop it.

Hodge’s criticism was levelled at the government’s decision to remove provisions on so-called legal but harmful content, which would include much anti-Jewish racism online.

She added:” The Centre for Countering Digital Hate has conducted research in this area, and it found that nine out of 10 antisemitic posts on Facebook and Twitter stay there, despite requests to have them removed.

“Its analysis of 714 posts containing anti-Jewish hate found that they were viewed by more than 7.3 million people across the platforms, and that 80% of posts containing holocaust denial and 70% identified as neo-Nazi were not acted on, although they were in breach of the rules set by the platforms.”

Hodge praised moves backed by many backbench Tory MPs to strengthen moves to introduce two-year sentences for managers who fail to stop children seeing harmful material.

She said:” It is not a party political issue; it is a common-sense measure that best serves the national interest and will make online a safer place for children.”

Nearly 50 Tory MPs wanted to amend the Online Safety Bill to introduce two-year sentences for managers who fail to stop children seeing harmful material.

The government had been facing defeat, with Labour also supporting the move.

Under a deal with the rebels to stave off defeat, ministers have now promised to introduce similar proposals.

The Online Safety Bill was introduced in March under Boris Johnson, and has been repeatedly altered during its passage through Parliament.

Its progress was further delayed last month when the government decided to make more changes to the bill.

The bill will now begin what is expected to be a lengthy journey through the House of Lords, after MPs gave their final approval on Tuesday.