#ZachsLaw: protecting people with epilepsy online

Amid ongoing turmoil in Westminster, one policy unites MPs from across the political divide: Zach's Law.

It was a major win in parliament today for our Zach's Law campaign, when Minister Chris Philp gave his unequivocal commitment to introduce a stand-alone offence to tackle internet trolls who maliciously target people with epilepsy.

Much to our delight - and surprise - last week saw the Epilepsy Society win two awards in just three days for our #ZachsLaw campaign.

Today (Tuesday 19 April 2022), the Online Safety Bill will have its second reading in the House of Commons. This is a chance for MPs to debate this most important piece of legislation in the internet age. The Epilepsy Society is pleased to have the support of Minister Chris Philp in backing our Zach’s Law campaign to tackle internet trolls who target people with epilepsy in order to trigger seizures. 

All of us at the Epilepsy Society are delighted to have been shortlisted for a prestigious campaigning award.

The Epilepsy Society is disappointed that Zach’s Law was not included in the first reading of the Online Safety Bill in Parliament yesterday. However, we are hopeful that the new offence to protect people with epilepsy from internet trolls will be included at a later stage in the legislative process.

MPs who have been supportive of Zach's Law argue that there is still more to do in tightening the draft online safety laws.

In a landmark report, MPs and peers are urging the government to introduce a new offence – Zach’s Law – to protect people with epilepsy from malicious posts designed to cause seizures.

Bristol-based innovation agency, Gravitywell, have developed technology to teach a piece of artificial intelligence (AI) how to detect and prevent the spread of flashing images on social media that could trigger seizures.

After more than 18 months of campaigning by the Epilepsy Society, a senior director at Twitter has given MPs his word that they will put a stop to flashing images that could pose a danger to people with photosensitive epilepsy on the social media platform.

Ten-year-old epilepsy campaigner, Zach Eagling, was honoured at a prestigious charity awards ceremony in central London in September 2021.

The Epilepsy Society is encouraging people affected by epilepsy to submit their views on online safety to an important parliamentary committee.

We are incredibly proud to announce that 10-year-old Zach Eagling – the figurehead of our Zach’s Law campaign – has been shortlisted as an Unsung Hero in the Third Sector Excellence Awards.

We are thrilled to see that the Law Commission is calling on the government to introduce a specific offence to deal with flashing images posted on social media to trigger seizures in people with epilepsy.

The Epilepsy Society has welcomed the publication of a new Bill which aims to promote online safety, but we believe more needs to be done to protect people with epilepsy from internet trolling.

Footballers are putting up a united front alongside people with epilepsy as they ask Prince William, president of the Football Association, for his support in tackling internet trolls.

The Government has promised that Ofcom will have “a suite of enforcement powers” to tackle online abuse against people with epilepsy.

We are thrilled to see that the Daily Express is today (19 February 2021) backing our Zach’s Law campaign to bring to justice internet trolls who send flashing images to people with epilepsy in order to trigger seizures.

A Government decision to impose tough financial penalties on social media companies that do not safeguard their users, has been welcomed by the Epilepsy Society.

Epilepsy Society welcomes the news that TikTok is introducing a new feature that filters photosensitive videos. This is a significant step in helping to safeguard users with epilepsy.

This was the joyful moment when nine-year-old Zach Eagling crossed the finishing line to complete his #twopointsix challenge, raising a staggering £11,500 for the Epilepsy Society.

Criminal Law Commissioner, Professor Penney Lewis, has warned that anyone who sends flashing images to people with epilepsy, provoking a seizure, could potentially be guilty of an offence such as assault causing actual bodily harm.

Epilepsy Society welcomes new proposals from the Law Commission to reform the law and better protect people from online harm. The news follows an ongoing campaign by the charity to make it a criminal offence to target people with epilepsy with malicious posts designed to trigger seizures.

As social media continues to play an increasingly large role in modern life, this can bring with it extra challenges for people with epilepsy, especially for those who have photosensitive epilepsy. Here are some simple steps you can take to make using social media a safer experience.

The GIF library GIPHY have taken prompt action to reduce the risk for people with photosensitive epilepsy online, following Epilepsy Society’s concerns about harmful content in the library.

Twitter have taken the decision to ban three key search terms, ‘epileptic, photosensitive and photosensitivity’ from its GIF search function, after internet trolls persistently used them to access flashing images with the intent of triggering seizures in people with epilepsy.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made a firm commitment to raise our concerns about malicious tweets designed to provoke seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy, with Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden.

UK charity sees worst ever cyber bullying attack on Twitter as eight-year-old boy with epilepsy and cerebral palsy is targeted.

Epilepsy Society has once again called on the Government to safeguard people with photosensitive epilepsy online, by including them in their Online Harms Bill.

Epilepsy Society is calling on the Government to safeguard people with photosensitive epilepsy online by regulating flashing images that could induce a seizure.