The new draft of the government's Online Safety Bill has softened its requirements of so-called 'Big Tech' firms, prompting criticism from digital safety advocates. 

The much-delayed Online Safety Bill has been presented by the government as a ground-breaking law that will target online racism, sexual abuse, bullying, fraud and other harmful material often found on the internet. 

In its original form, the bill gave regulators wide-ranging powers to sanction digital and social media companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok. It proposed significant fines for those firms which failed to deal with online abuse as well as possible criminal prosecution for executives.

Originally due to be presented to Parliament earlier this year in the summer, the bill was delayed due to the Conservative Party leadership race. While the legislation was held in limbo, critic's pushed for a "total rewrite" of the bill, citing its potential...