Dean Russell, MP for Watford, has helped to pass a bill that has made it a criminal offence for anyone to attempt to trigger a seizure in someone who suffers from epilepsy by targeting them with online flashing images.
Known as Zach’s Law, this comes as a result of campaigning after a young boy from Liversedge, Zach Eagling, was subject to a targeted online attack.
After his mother, Claire Keer, posted Zach’s achievements of completing 130 laps of their garden unaided in his efforts to raise donations for the Epilepsy Society, hundreds of flashing images were sent to Claire’s account with the intention of causing Zach to experience a seizure.
After the bill was passed on September 19, Mr Russell MP said: “Sadly, Zach’s experiences were not unique as thousands of other messages were sent to the Epilepsy Society’s account and the accounts of followers. This continues unfortunately.
“I am so pleased to see, with my encouragement, that Zach’s Law is now included in the Online Safety Bill. I engaged directly with executives of online platforms and social media bodies to ensure protections were in place to protect young and vulnerable users.”
Claire said: “I could not be prouder of what Zach has achieved. I would like to thank everyone who has relentlessly backed Zach in this campaign, including many MPs from across all the parties.”
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