UK to Fine Social Media Firms Over ‘Harmful Content’

PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA - APRIL 02: North Korean children learn to use the computer in a primary school on April 2, 2011 in Pyongyang, North Korea. Pyongyang is the capital city of North Korea and the population is about 2,500,000. Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images

Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter will face huge fines in the UK if they fail to protect people from “harmful content,” the British government announced on Tuesday.

Companies that fail in their “duty of care” will be fined up to £18 million (US$24 million) or 10 percent of annual global turnover, whichever is higher, under new laws proposed by the government.