EE Hope United squad member and former England international, Fara Williams, yesterday attended a roundtable at 10 Downing Street with entertainment and TV stars including Georgia Harrison, Malin Andersson and Georgia Kousoulou, as they showed their support for the proposed changes to the Online Safety Bill, which if passed, would allow for greater protection for women and girls online. This follows EE Hope United’s continued commitment to tackle online hate by lobbying for changes to the Online Safety Bill.
In a final show of backing for amends to the Bill, which is currently being prepared for Royal Assent later this year, the roundtable, chaired by Michelle Donelan, Secretary of State for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, saw EE Hope United squad member, Fara Williams, join a host of entertainment and TV stars including Sharon Gaffka, Kaz Kamwi, Emily Clarkson, Anna Woolhouse, Emeka Okorocha, Natalie Pinkham and James Okulaja, as they discussed their personal experiences of online hate and why they support the changes to the Bill.
Amendments to the Online Safety Bill include:
· Bolstered protection for women and girls through a requirement for Ofcom to publish guidance which summarises measures that social media companies should take to reduce the risk of harm
· Ofcom will need to consult with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and Victims Commissioner when producing this guidance, ensuring it reflects the voices of victims, as well as the views of experts
The roundtable follows tireless campaigning for the Bill to do more to safeguard women online. EE was one of those leading the charge for the Bill to be changed: in April of this year, it teamed up with Glitch – the UK charity focused on ending online abuse and championing digital citizenship – to call on the Government to honour its promise ‘to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online’ with a campaign lobbying the House of Lords to namecheck women and girls in the Online Safety Bill.
This campaign was the latest step in EE Hope United’s continued work tackling online hate in all forms; following EE Hope United’s campaign to combat online sexist abuse during the UEFA Women’s European Championships 2022, EE secured the signatures of over sixty UK sports men and women, presenters and journalists on its open letter to policy makers lobbying for a more stringent Online Safety Bill.
Fara Williams, EE Hope United squad member and former England international, said: “I’m pleased to show my support of the amendments to the Online Safety Bill that will hopefully see more protection for women and girls online. It is clear that the online abuse that happens across social media platforms is something that needs to change and so this a very positive step towards creating a safer and more inclusive online environment for everyone.”
