U.K. Reveals Plan to Punish Facebook, Google for Spreading Violent Content

The United Kingdom has revealed a landmark plan for holding tech companies responsible for spreading violent content, The Washington Post reports Sunday. The plan, which has the backing of Prime Minister Theresa May, would allow the British government to fine or otherwise penalize tech companies like Facebook and Google if they don’t immediately act to remove violent content like child exploitation, terrorism and graphic violence. The plan also targets what the Post describes as “false news.” Officials say the move would constitute “world leading laws to make the U.K. the safest place in the world to be online.” It also raises a series of questions that would be even more unprecedented, asking lawmakers to weigh if tech CEO’s should be held directly liable or if regulators should have the power to restrict access to particularly egregious content. “The era of self-regulation for online companies is over,” the nation’s digital secretary said in a Sunday statement.