Zach's Law included in the Online Safety Bill after then nine-year-old targeted by trolls
Zach, who's now 11, with epilepsy from West Yorkshire is one step closer to changing the law, after being targeted by trolls who sent strobing images to try get him to have a seizure
Last updated 12th Dec 2022
Zach Eagling who's from Liversedge and suffers with epilepsy and cerebral palsy was inspired by Captain Sir Tom Moore to raise money for the Epilepsy Society during the first lockdown in 2020.
When his mum Claire Keer put this on social media, and asked the charity to share on their socials, they were sent around 200 strobing images and memes to try and trigger a seizure.
Claire said, the Epilepsy Society had been seeing this happen previously, but at the time, this was the worst attack.
Now Zach's Law has been included in the Online Safety Bill - to make it an offence to electronically send or show flashing images to someone with epilepsy intentionally.
His mum, Claire told us: "The internet has moved so much quicker than legislation has, that hopefully we're going to start catching up now, with the online safety bill.
"We're the first country to have brought this kind of legislation in, so ideally once the rest of the world has joined in, the internet will be a safer place for everybody".
Dean Russell and Suzanne Webb, Member of Parliament for Watford and Stourbridge respectively, have successfully campaigned for Zach’s Law to be included in the Online Safety Bill.
Dean has campaigned on this issue for more than a year after hearing of the traumatic and targeted online attack of Zach.
As a member of the Draft Online Safety Bill committee, Dean scrutinised the provisions to ensure there would be protection for those with epilepsy from being sent flashing images, a proposal that was suggested by the Law Commission in June 2021.
After the Draft Bill Committee recommended Zach’s Law be included in the Online Safety Bill, Dean engaged directly with executives of online platforms and social media bodies to ensure protections were in place to protect young and vulnerable users.
In the last week, Zach’s Law (New Clause 53) has passed through the House of Commons and will be included in the Online Safety Bill which, if receives Parliamentary approval, will be made into law early next year.
Dean said, "I would like to pay tribute to Zach, his family and the Epilepsy Society for working so hard to ensure that this vote happened. I am proud to have worked with Suzanne Webb MP and the family from the start to ensure that this important amendment was included in the Online Safety Bill.
"This will now give vital protection to those with epilepsy and will send out a powerful signal that abuse of this kind will not be tolerated. Perpetrators can now be brought to justice."