In the past fortnight, the Government has published another set of proposals for the revised Online Safety Bill, this time on anonymity. President Biden made a strong commitment to protecting children online in his State of the Union address, focussing on privacy – a remarkable journey for that approach from Baroness Kidron’s pioneering work in the 2017 Data Protection Bill debates. Internationally, the impact of mis- and disinformation relating to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the platforms’ interventions in this as the situation unfolds, have been prominent. In the next couple of weeks, we’re looking forward to the launch of the Internet Commission’s second report on platform accountability and – maybe – some movement on the Online Safety Bill itself.
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• The House of Commons Library has updated its thorough and well-organised reading list of reactions to the draft Online Safety Bill.
• Which? has launched a campaign to influence the Government to include paid-for advertising in the Online Safety Bill: you can view the campaign video, featuring support from Parliamentarians on all sides of the House, here and read Damian Collins’ blog for Which? here.
• Full Fact has published a report on the Government’s approach to tackling mis- and disinformation in the Online Safety Bill, claiming that it amounts to “censorship by proxy”. Amongst its recommendations, it calls for more robust transparency measures and a stronger focus on media literacy.
• Graham Smith’s latest blog looks at the latest Government announcements in relation to revised Online Safety Bill; and Coadec has published a report on its assessment of how the Bill will affect online liability rules.

• The Facebook whistleblower, Frances Haugen, has put forward some suggestions for Nick Clegg (in his new, elevated role at Meta) on how to address the problems at Facebook.
• The design and safety of the metaverse continues to be a concern to researchers and campaigners; read the latest from CCDH; and a BBC investigation, which found that children were being let into virtual strip clubs.
• The Internet Commission will publish its second accountability report on the 10 March. Based on two years of evidence and analysis, the report identifies 46 trust and safety practices in 6 organisations including Sony Playstation, Twitch and Tinder and it highlights the importance of user voice, coordinated oversight and innovation to balance safety and freedom. Participating organisations benefit from a confidential and independent review, knowledge sharing between organisations and inclusion in the report. Request your copy here.
• Twitter has updated on its Birdwatch project to add context to misleading tweets; and there’s interesting insight into Twitter’s Bluesky project experimenting with decentralisation in aspects of the service.
• Meanwhile, the impact on people of colour of a lack of diversity in AI was a focus of a recent NPR article.

• Metro published a long read on “kidfluencers” and their activity on social media.
• Nominet and PUBLIC are conducting research on trends, initiatives, and the stakeholders shaping young people's digital lives. The research ultimately aims to identify systemic opportunities to counter illegal harms online with the support of stakeholders across the ecosystem, including civil society, Safety Tech, academia and more. If you are interested in participating in the research, please reach out to Marco Iovino (marco@public.io). Additional information is available through the launch blog post here. 

• The platforms’ response to mis and disinformation relating to the Russian invasion of Ukraine is fast-moving (though this from February was prescient): some catch-up explainers worth a read are this on the EU’s coordinated efforts, this piece on Facebook’s operations centre; this on changes to platforms’ advertising policies; and this on the banning of RT. The EU Disinfo Lab has set up a Ukraine Hub.
• Don’t miss the excellent new podcast series  from the BBC’s Marianna Spring, which tells the story of a Shrewsbury man, taken in by Covid conspiracy theories, who subsequently died of Covid early in 2021. Spring delves into the online and local networks that influenced him and the impact of his death on his friends and family.
• The latest investigation from CCDH has focused on Facebook’s failure to address climate change disinformation; and both Stanford and the Virality Project has published a report on its anti-vaxx misinformation.

• An investigation by BBC’s File on 4 has uncovered the extent of subscription scams, affecting an estimated 300,000 victims.
• The ASA has published its thoughts on “dark patterns” and advertising regulation; and there’s similar from BEUC here. 
• Facebook is being sued in relation to blacklisting of rivals to Only Fans by allegedly putting such rivals on a GIFCT database used by Facebook and others. Its parent company, Meta, says the claims are "without merit".
• The CMA has cleared Microsoft’s acquisition of Nuance Communications, which produces voice recognition software.

• In echoes of Myanmar and the hate directed at the Rohingya, the role of Facebook in another national conflict – this time in Ethiopia – has come under the spotlight. Civil society groups are still pushing for the release of the report into Facebook’s role in India. Meanwhile the company launched its Human Rights Month programme on 1 March under the theme “The Year of Unity and Renewal: Protecting and Preserving our Human Rights Gains”.
• The Anti Defamation League has published a new report on US White Supremacist propaganda.

• The ICO international data transfer agreement and guidance will come into force on 21 March 2022 (assuming no objections are raised).
• The EDRI has coordinated an open letter, signed by 72 civil society organisations, arguing for the abolition of dark patterns – linked into the trilogue on the DSA.  Meanwhile, NOYB has launched the “second wave” of its cookie banner complaints activities: it sent 270 complaints relating to finding that ““dark-patterns” get more than 90% of users to click the “accept” button while industry statistics show that only 3% actually want to agree”.
• Meta has settled a class action in the US that’s a decade old relating to the tracking of user activity for the purposes of targeted advertising.
• It’s worth keeping an eye on Connected by Data, the new venture from former ODI Chief Exec Jeni Tennison, which was launched last week.

• In his State of the Union address, President Biden announced a number of measures to improve protections for children online and improve their  mental health, including: a ban on targeted advertising to children online, the introduction of “safety by design” principles and restrictions on algorithmic decision-making to limit discrimination. Read 5 Rights’ response here; the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, which would deliver many of these commitments, is here with a summary here.
• Also in the US, a Bill to establish the Bureau of Digital Services Oversight and Safety has been published. The DSOSA would establish a Bureau of Digital Services Oversight and Safety within the FTC and staff it with “at least 500 positions” to include “at least 80 technologists,” “80 sociotechnical experts” and “at least 15 constitutional lawyers.” The FTC would also collect best practices and provide it to the platforms as “evidence based non-binding  guidance” on ways to address systemic risks. It is noted that “The guidance shall focus on product design features and content moderation processes that aim to be content neutral.” An advisory committee is established to “solicit views” on such guidance, including from “communities most impacted by the systemic risks” identified in the legislation, which include discrimination; as well as from current and former content moderators and platform employees.
• Reuters reports that the second US-EU trade tech council meeting will take place in May.
• In Europe, complaints have emerged about the lack of transparency around trilogues for both DSA and DMA: here’s the EP’s recent press release on the meeting on 15 Feb; the third trilogue meeting for the DMA took place on 1 March. ICYMI, ENISA recently published a report on “data protection by design” and the EDPS has published its proposals for a ban on targeted political advertising. The EDPB meanwhile has kicked off coordinated enforcement on the use of cloud in the public sector.
• The European Parliament has issued a report on toys and product safety which includes issues around fakes (presumably online marketplaces in view) and risks around connected toys.
• In her recent evidence to the Irish Parliament, Frances Haugen called for a review of the Irish Data Protection Commission; and Politico has uncovered evidence of targeted digital lobbying of European officials by the major platforms: read more here.
• China’s likely intentions re a more centralised internet governance model are discussed here. In Canada, an equivalent to the Australian media bargaining code may be on the way; meanwhile, news reports suggest that the Australian anti-trolling Bill may fall foul of the country’s free trade deal with the US.

• The ICO is consulting on its regulatory action policy – deadline 22 March.
• The FCA is consulting on cryptoassets – deadline 23 March.
• DCMS has launched a consultation on updating the NIS regulations in respect of business cyber resilience – deadline 10 April.
• “Your Views Matter” – an ICO online survey – runs until 1 May.
• BEIS has launched a consultation on Enabling a National Cyber-Physical Infrastructure to catalyse innovation – deadline 11 May.

• Using Legal Databases to Study Tech-Enabled Harms – REPHRAIN – 9 March.
• Changing conversations: empowering vulnerable children in a digital world – Internet Matters – 17 March.
• AI UK – Alan Turing Institute – 22-23 March, including a panel discussion on the Online Safety Bill and the launch of a new Online Harms Observatory.
• The Draft Online Safety Bill and next steps for online safety regulation in the UK – Baroness Kidron, Jeremy Wright MP and Prof Lorna Woods are among the speakers – Westminster Forum – 23 March.
• Parliament and Internet Conference – 23 March.
• Will the Online Safety Bill make the Internet safer? – New Statesman debate – 30 March.
• Reducing harm around digital labour: how can we tackle online hate – Cultures of Digital Hate – 31 March.
• Tackling Fake News and Improving Media Literacy – Westminster Forum – 31 March.

• 10 March – Lords Committee on Fraud Act 2006 and Digital Fraud oral evidence session.
• 11 March – Lord Lipsey leads a debate in the Lords on the report of the former Democracy and Digital Technologies Committee.
• 17 March – Lords Committee on Fraud Act 2006 and Digital Fraud oral evidence session.
• 24 March – DCMS questions.