UK: Cyberflashing will be a criminal offence in the Online Safety Bill

The revised Online Safety Bill that is expected to be released next week will contain new criminal offences such as Cyberflashing, where perpetrators can face up to two years in jail. There has been an increase in cyberflashing incidents in the UK and Wales where  teenage girls are receiving unsolicited nude images of boys or men. The other  offences added include upskirting,  “pile-ons”, sending threatening social media posts,  and publishing hoax bomb threats, etc.

Apart from adding new offences the bill will now require platforms to adhere to stringent measures to protect children online. These include protecting from fraudulent advertisements, carry out age checks for pornography sites, etc.