Jeremy Wright is the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in the UK. He was previously attorney general and elected the Conservative MP for Kenilworth and Southam in 2010. The views expressed in this commentary belong to the author. View more opinion at CNN.

(CNN) The world recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of the World Wide Web, which has changed the world for the better in many ways. It's now easier than ever to buy things with the click of a few buttons, share information quickly and safely, and give people who previously did not have a voice platforms to express their opinions.

Jeremy Wright

But even the web's inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee has called for action to address a slate of problems borne out of the internet. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also recently came out in favor of stricter regulation.

These are calls that the UK government has been listening to. We've heard tragic stories of everything from bullying and harassment to the promotion of self harm, suicide, child sexual abuse and the glorification of terrorism and violent crime. It's clear to us that self-regulation among tech companies has not been sufficient and action in the form of regulation is now needed.

In a world first, the UK has published a blueprint for new legislation that will hold tech companies to account and protect those using their platforms.

The online world is changing rapidly, and it needs an independent regulator. It will enforce a new legal obligation for online platforms to exercise a duty of care to their users. This means that companies will have a responsibility to take reasonable and proportionate steps to protect their users from harm. It is similar to the principle that when you take your child to a playground, you trust that the builder made sure the equipment was safe and that no harm will come to them. Why should it be any different online?

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