Social media, misinformation and harmful algorithms

Science, Innovation and Technology Committee Open Inquiry
Opened: 20 Nov 2024 Parliament page
Between 30 July and 7 August 2024, a wave of anti-immigration demonstrations and riots took place across the UK. Some targeted mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers, driven in part by false claims that spread on social media platforms relating to the killing of three children in Southport. Ofcom, the … Read more
14 Recommendations
23 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
8 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 12 events
17 Oct
2025
Report published
11 Jul
2025
Report published
2 May
2025
Correspondence
2 May
2025
Correspondence
2 May
2025
Correspondence
2 May
2025
Correspondence
29 Apr
2025
Correspondence
29 Apr
2025
Correspondence
29 Apr
2025
Correspondence
29 Apr
2025
Correspondence
25 Feb
2025
Oral evidence
25 Feb
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
25 Feb 2025
View on parliament.uk
Social media, misinformation and harmful algorithms
Ali Law · Sky Chris Yiu · Meta Wifredo Fernandez · X (formerly known as Twitter)
Title HC No. Published Items Response
2nd Report – Social media, misinformation and harmful algorithms HC 441 11 Jul 2025 37 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
7 results
Clear
3 Conclusion Rejected
2nd Report – Social media, misinfo…
Online Safety Act fails to adequately tackle misinformation and pervasive online harm
The Online Safety Act was not designed to tackle misinformation—we heard that even if it had been fully implemented, it would have made little difference to the spread of misleading content that drove violence and hate in summer 2024. Therefore, … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the potential impact of online misinformation but defends the Online Safety Act's proportionate approach, stating it focuses on illegal content and content harmful to children while balancing freedom of expression, and explains how providers are required to tackle such content.
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
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18 Recommendation Rejected
2nd Report – Social media, misinfo…
Submit annual report to Parliament on the state of online misinformation trends.
The broad scale—and serious impact—of misinformation online requires greater transparency and accountability from the government. In line with our Principle 1, the government should submit an annual report to Parliament on the state of misinformation online, tracking trends and issues … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation for an annual report on misinformation, citing national security concerns that such a report would expose vulnerabilities and hinder operations. They state they already provide updates through existing parliamentary channels.
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
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20 Conclusion Rejected
2nd Report – Social media, misinfo…
Confirm that platform services are required to act on all risks identified in assessments.
To ensure true responsibility from platform companies, as per Principle 3, Ofcom and DSIT should confirm that services are required to act on all risks identified in risk assessments, regardless of whether they are included in Ofcom’s Codes of Practice. … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to require services to act on all identified risks regardless of Codes of Practice, stating it is not possible within the Online Safety Act framework. They clarify that compliance is achieved by adopting measures in the Codes and believe existing guidance ensures significant unmanaged risks are addressed.
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
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21 Conclusion Rejected
2nd Report – Social media, misinfo…
Create an additional regulatory category for 'small but risky' platforms, based on their online harms.
The Online Safety Act does not do enough to address the risks posed by small platforms due to its exclusive focus on size. Ofcom should create an additional category to cover ‘small but risky’ platforms, based on analysis of the … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to create a new category for 'small but risky' platforms, stating they disagree that the Online Safety Act (OSA) is insufficient. They assert that the OSA's main measures already apply to such services, and a dedicated taskforce is actively driving compliance among high-risk smaller services.
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
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34 Recommendation Rejected
2nd Report – Social media, misinfo…
Establish new arms-length body or extend Ofcom's powers to regulate digital advertising supply chain.
Tackling online harm means addressing the principles that incentivise and monetise its spread. In line with Principle 3, responsibility, the government should create a new arms-length body—not funded by industry—to regulate and scrutinise the process of digital advertising, covering the … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to create a new arms-length body or extend Ofcom's powers to specifically regulate the monetization of harmful and misleading content. It explains that the Online Safety Act focuses on systems and processes for illegal and child-harmful content, and extending Ofcom's remit to broader 'harmful content' would require difficult definitions and could have negative implications, instead highlighting existing industry-led schemes.
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
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35 Conclusion Rejected
2nd Report – Social media, misinfo…
Mandate the Advertising Standards Authority to establish comprehensive digital advertising ecosystem guidelines for all actors.
To tackle the incentive behind amplified misinformation—namely, the monetisation of harmful content—there should be clear and enforceable standards for digital advertising market processes, as well as advertising content. Following our Principles 1, 3 and 5, government should ask the Advertising … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to ask the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to establish comprehensive guidelines for the digital advertising ecosystem. It states that setting standards for processes in the digital ecosystem falls outside the ASA's remit, instead highlighting the industry-led 'Gold Standard' scheme.
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
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37 Conclusion Rejected
2nd Report – Social media, misinfo…
Empower Ofcom to issue penalty notices to platforms for monetising harmful content on their services.
There are insufficient disincentives for bad practice in the digital advertising market. Bad actors can exploit the ecosystem, monetising harmful content through major platforms. Following Principle 3, Ofcom should be empowered to give penalty notices to platforms when they allow … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to empower Ofcom to issue penalty notices specifically for platforms monetizing harmful content. It clarifies that the Online Safety Act enables Ofcom to take enforcement action for failures in systems and processes related to illegal content and content harmful to children, but not for individual pieces of content or for broader 'harmful content' as this would require new definitions and have wider implications.
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
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Government Response AI assessment · 36 of 14 classified
Accepted 10
Accepted in Part 1
Acknowledged 7
Deferred 4
Not Addressed 7
Rejected 7
Total 14 recs + 23 conclusions
Correspondence 8 letters
2 May 2025 Correspondence from Chair to X, in relation to follow-ups from the 25 February oral evidence session, dated 20 March 2025
Parliament page
2 May 2025 Correspondence from Chair to TikTok, in relation to follow-ups from the 25 February oral evidence session, dated 20 March 2025
Parliament page
2 May 2025 Correspondence from Chair to Google, in relation to follow-ups from the 25 February oral evidence session, dated 20 March 2025
Parliament page
2 May 2025 Correspondence from Chair to Meta, in relation to follow-ups from the 25 February oral evidence session, dated 20 March 2025
Parliament page
29 Apr 2025 Correspondence from X, Follow-ups from 25 February oral evidence session, 10 April, 2025
Parliament page
29 Apr 2025 Correspondence from TikTok, Follow-ups from 25 February oral evidence session, 10 April 2025
Parliament page
29 Apr 2025 Correspondence from Google, Follow-ups from 25 February oral evidence session, April 2025
Parliament page
29 Apr 2025 Correspondence from Meta, Follow-ups from 25 February oral evidence session, 9 April 2025
Parliament page