Tackling Online Abuse
Petitions Committee
Closed
Inquiry
The Petitions Committee has launched an inquiry into tackling online abuse, to consider issues raised in a number of petitions from the last Parliament and to follow up on the Committee’s previous inquiry into online abuse and the experiences of disabled people. The inquiry will resume in the wake of …
Read more
22
Recommendations
7
Conclusions
1
Report
5
Oral sessions
5
Events
Activity timeline 12 events
28 Mar
2022
2022
1 Feb
2022
2022
Report published
1 Dec
2021
2021
Oral evidence
1 Dec
2021
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 6, Palace of Westminster
23 Nov
2021
2021
Oral evidence
23 Nov
2021
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 16, Palace of Westminster
16 Nov
2021
2021
Oral evidence
16 Nov
2021
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
2 Nov
2021
2021
Oral evidence
2 Nov
2021
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
2 Jul
2020
2020
Oral evidence
2 Jul
2020
2020
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Virtual meeting
Oral evidence sessions 5 sessions
1 Dec 2021
View on parliament.uk
Chris Philp MP · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Orla MacRae · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
23 Nov 2021
View on parliament.uk
Dr Nicholas Hoggard · Law Commission
Katy Minshall · Twitter
Professor Penney Lewis · The Law Commission
Rebecca Stimson · Meta
Theo Bertram · TikTok
16 Nov 2021
View on parliament.uk
Tackling Online Abuse
Andy Burrows · NSPCC
Dr Bertie Vidgen · The Alan Turing Institute
Ellen Judson · Demos
Seyi Akiwowo · Glitch
Stephen Kinsella OBE · Clean up the Internet
William Perrin OBE · Carnegie Trust UK
2 Nov 2021
View on parliament.uk
Tackling Online Abuse
Chara Bakalis · Oxford Brookes University
Danny Stone MBE · Antisemitism Policy Trust
Dr Joe Mulhall · HOPE not hate
Matthew Harrison · The Royal Mencap Society
Nancy Kelley · Stonewall
Ruth Smeeth · Index on Censorship
2 Jul 2020
View on parliament.uk
Amy Price
Katie Price
Reports 1 report · click to expand
| Title | HC No. | Published | Items | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Second Report - Tackling online abuse | HC 766 | 1 Feb 2022 | 29 | Responded |
Recommendations & Conclusions
6 results
3
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Second Report - Tackling online ab…
Our predecessor Petitions Committee’s report concluded that self-regulation of social media had failed.
Our predecessor Petitions Committee’s report concluded that self-regulation of social media had failed. Despite the user safety tools and innovations platforms have introduced since then, these companies have continued to place insufficient priority on user safety to protect users from …
Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the Committee's work and agrees on the devastating impact of online abuse, reaffirming its intention for the Online Safety Bill to end social media self-regulation and introduce accountability for the tech sector.
16
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Second Report - Tackling online ab…
The Law Commission is right to recommend refocusing online communications offences onto the harm abusive...
The Law Commission is right to recommend refocusing online communications offences onto the harm abusive messages can cause to victims. We welcome the Government’s commitment to adopt the proposed threatening and ‘harm-based’ communications offences. However, we also acknowledge the uncertainty …
Read more
Government Response
The government welcomes the committee's comments, confirms the Online Safety Bill will incorporate the Law Commission's recommended communications offences, and notes concerns about interpretation, stating the CPS is anticipated to update guidelines and implementation will be monitored.
17
Recommendation
Acknowledged
Second Report - Tackling online ab…
The Government should monitor how effectively any new communications offences that are enacted—in particular, the...
The Government should monitor how effectively any new communications offences that are enacted—in particular, the Law Commission’s proposed harm-based offence—protect people from, and provide redress for victims of, online abuse, while also respecting freedom of expression online. We recommend that …
Read more
Government Response
The government welcomes the recommendations, confirming the Bill will incorporate the Law Commission’s proposed communications offences and stating it will monitor their implementation and impact once in force. They do not explicitly commit to publishing an initial review within two years, but note that notifiable offences are already collected and published by ONS.
24
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Second Report - Tackling online ab…
Social media platforms told us they already have rules against previously banned users returning, as...
Social media platforms told us they already have rules against previously banned users returning, as well as the tools and data needed to identify users and prevent them starting new accounts. However, the evidence we heard suggests this is not …
Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the committee's observation and will keep it under consideration, outlining how the Online Safety Bill will require services to assess and mitigate risks from anonymous abuse, with Ofcom setting steps for enforcement against repeat offenders.
25
Recommendation
Acknowledged
Second Report - Tackling online ab…
Social media platforms must have robust methods in place to trace users posting content that...
Social media platforms must have robust methods in place to trace users posting content that violates the platform’s terms of service, and must effectively enforce their own sanctions against such users. We recommend that, as part of the new online …
Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the recommendation and states it will continue to keep it under consideration. They note the Online Safety Bill requires companies to assess risks, including those from anonymity, and that Ofcom’s codes of practice could include steps for identity verification and addressing repeat offenders, with robust enforcement powers.
26
Recommendation
Acknowledged
Second Report - Tackling online ab…
Where there is a need to trace and investigate accounts posting potentially illegal content, this...
Where there is a need to trace and investigate accounts posting potentially illegal content, this is usually technically possible even if the account is publicly anonymous. However, the police’s ability to trace accounts posting such content at scale is constrained …
Read more
Government Response
The government states it has engaged with law enforcement to review police powers for tackling illegal anonymous abuse, and the outcome will inform its position, but does not commit to publishing the conclusions or a timetable for changes. They add that police resource allocation is for Chief Constables, while the Home Office funds specialist investigation teams.