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Highlights
- The UK government will be introducing the world-first online safety bill in Parliament on Thursday.
- The bill intends to provide a safer online experience to users, where tech giants will be held accountable.
- The UK government said the bill, once it becomes a law, will speed up the action process against offenders.
- If social media platforms fail to remove harmful and illegal content, they can be fined or blocked for lack of compliance.
The UK government will be introducing the world-first online safety bill in Parliament on Thursday with new measures that would include tougher and faster criminal sanctions for tech bosses if they fail to comply with the online safety regulation.
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The bill aims to create a safer online environment for users and will protect children from harmful content, such as pornography, cyber-bullying, content promoting self-harm, and will limit exposure to all illegal content, and also protect freedom of speech.
On Wednesday, the UK government said the bill once it becomes a law will reduce criminal sanctions or jail time to two months for tech bosses instead of two years. If they failed to remove harmful and illegal content, social networks could be fined or blocked for lack of compliance.
UK internet regulator Ofcom will be responsible for imposing fines on the tech giants if they fail to comply with the new online safety regulation. The fine will include up to 10% of their annual global turnover, block non-compliant sites, and force them to improve their practices and rules.
Tech giants will need to assess types of legal harms against users that may crop up with their services. Then they will have to see how they will address the problem and uphold their stated terms and conditions.
Let us look at three FTSE-listed cybersecurity stocks, such as Darktrace Plc, Crossword Cybersecurity Plc, and Kape Technologies Plc, that may get impacted by the development.
Darktrace Plc (LON: DARK)
Darktrace Plc is the world-leading Artificial Intelligent (AI) cyber security company. It specialises in cyber defence and offers protection to data and the workplace from cyber attackers. The company has reported an increase in revenue by 52.3% to US$192,642 million for the half-year ended 31 December 2021 and its adjusted EBITDA recorded a 124.6% increase to US$46,702 million for the half-year ended 31 December 2021.
The market cap of the FTSE 250-listed company stands at £3,174.07 million as of 17 March 2022. Darktrace Plc’s shares were trading at GBX 449.60, down by 0.93%, at 9:00 AM (GMT), on 17 March 2022. The company has given a return of 6.62% to its shareholders since the start of this year as of 17 March 2022.
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Crossword Cybersecurity Plc (LON:CCS)
Crossword Cybersecurity Plc is a software company that focuses on commercialization of university research-based cybersecurity and risk management software and cyber security consulting. The company has recently announced acquisition of the threat intelligence company and provider of Trillion, Threat Status Limited.
The market cap of the FTSE AIM-All Share-listed company stands at £22.49 million as of 17 March 2022. Crossword Cybersecurity Plc’s shares were trading at GBX 30.00, at 11: 55 AM (GMT), on 17 March 2022. The company has given a negative return of -6.54% to its shareholders over the last one year as of 17 March 2022, while its year-to-date return stands at 16.67%.
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Kape Technologies Plc (LON: KAPE)
Kape Technologies Plc is a leading privacy-first cybersecurity software development company that offers a suite of solutions to protect consumers and their personal data.
The market cap of the FTSE AIM 100 Index-listed company stands at £1,353.34 million as of 17 March 2022. Kape Technologies Plc’s shares were trading at GBX 392.50, up by 1.82%, at 9:00 AM (GMT), on 17 March 2022. The company has given a return of 46.19% to its shareholders over the last one year as of 17 March 2022, while its year-to-date return stands at -13.57%.
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Note: The above content constitutes a very preliminary observation or view based on industry trends and is of limited scope without any in-depth fundamental valuation or technical analysis. Any interest in stocks or sectors should be thoroughly evaluated taking into consideration the associated risks.
