The U.K. advises Facebook to prioritize safety as a minister considers tougher criminal sanctions against technology executives.

According to Nadine Dorries's testimony before a parliamentary committee on the U.K.'s new internet safety legislation, she intends to speed up the implementation of criminal punishments for violations of the new legislation, which will come into effect in the fall.

For two years, a section in the draught Online Safety bill had a provision that would have held identifiable individuals criminally liable for failing to stop illegal or harmful content from spreading on their platforms, but that provision was removed.

While testifying before a joint committee this morning, Dorries stated her desire to shorten the deferral of criminal culpability powers to just three or six months after the bill is signed into law, according to the joint committee.

Premier Boris Johnson recently said that the measure would be brought to parliament by the end of the year, although that deadline may slip. The bill was first published as a draught in May. Despite this, the account is sure to become law in 2022, thanks to Johnson's massive Commons majority.

When it comes to internet CEOs, if Dorries plays her cards right, they might be held accountable for their crimes in the U.K. as early next year.

When it comes to removing unlawful and damaging content from their platforms, Dorries claims that tech firms already know what they need to do—implying that they are holding back for commercial reasons. As a result, the implicit idea is that a credible fear of criminal consequences is required to focus the thoughts of I.T. titans.

One of Frances Haugen's main demands is for Facebook to alter its algorithm to limit virality and stop misinformation from spreading. She has done this by leaking secret data and accusing Facebook of prioritizing profit before security.

For years, U.K. legislators worked on legislation that would force social media companies like Facebook and Twitter to reassess their content policies and take responsibility for their users' safety and security.

According to Dorries, doing so would be a better use of the approximately 10,000 to 20,000 engineers Facebook plans to hire to build the "metaverse" technology. Instead, the software giant should focus on internet security and protecting kids from internet content horrors, she added.

It is the responsibility of government regulators, according to Haugen, to compel meta and Facebook networks to prioritize user safety, as opposed to Facebook, which he claims treats it as a "cost."

Speaking directly to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his senior spin doctor, former Liberal Democrat MP and deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Nick Clegg, Dorries said: "Rebranding does not work. It is a waste of time."

"We're going to take care of any damage that's done." Put those 10,000 or 20,000 engineers to work today on adhering to your terms and conditions and deleting your destructive algorithms because if you don't, this bill will be watertight."

"People like Mark Zuckerberg and Nick Clegg," Dorries continued, "who want to take off into the metaverse." "My suggestion is to stay in the real world.'" Because the algorithms are responsible for the harm, this bill will soon become an act, and you will be held liable for this act."

To implement her desired reduced time limit for criminal culpability, she stated that it would still need to be approved by parliamentary and legislative authorities. However, she informed the committee that she intends to pursue criminal culpability within three to six months, which will allow senior tech executives to be punished for safety failings soon.