UK expands censorship powers through new ‘super-complaints’ rule– www.lifesitenews.com
Source Link
Excerpt:
(Reclaim The Net) — A draft statutory instrument titled The Online Safety Super-Complaints (Eligibility and Procedural Matters) Regulations 2025 has been introduced to the U.K. Parliament, aiming to operationalize a new “super-complaints” mechanism under the U.K.’s expansive Online Safety Act.
A copy of the draft can be found HERE.
This mechanism sets up a process through which select organizations can formally raise concerns about systemic harms or provider conduct across digital platforms. Beneath the language of user protection, however, the framework codifies yet another channel for state-endorsed gatekeeping of online discourse.
Under these regulations, entities such as civil society groups recognized for their expertise in online safety may qualify to file a complaint with Ofcom, the U.K.’s communications regulator.
These “eligible entities” will be permitted to submit complaints no more than once every six months, barring certain exceptions.
The matters they can raise include not just tangible harms, but also content or conduct that appears to pose “a material risk” of causing “significant harm.”
Though framed as a tool for accountability, the structure hinges on a tightly controlled process.
Complaints must meet detailed evidentiary requirements and will be screened for admissibility by Ofcom, which has the discretion to reject submissions it deems repetitive, unfounded, or overlapping with court proceedings or matters under other regulators’ purview.