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1717170

registered interest
date	10/05/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Social Media: Regulation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) the Mental Health Foundation, (b) the Antisemitism Policy Trust and (c) other civil society organisations on the regulation of online forums that allow the sharing of (i) detailed instructional information about methods of suicide and (ii) other (A) dangerous and (B) hateful content; and whether she plans further such discussions.
tabling member constituency	West Bromwich East
tabling member printed	Nicola Richards
uin	25724
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2024 answer text <p>The Secretary of State and department officials have regular meetings and discussions with a wide range of stakeholders, including civil society groups, on online safety issues. During the development and passage of the Online Safety Act, the department and Ministers met with relevant civil society organisations to discuss issues such as suicide prevention and countering online hate and violence, to ensure the legislation took into account as broad a range of views as possible.</p><p> </p><p>Following the Act gaining Royal Assent, there is ongoing engagement with relevant stakeholders as the legislation is implemented by Ofcom, the online safety regulator.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 20/05/2024 08:43:53 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	4868 label Biography information for Nicola Richards

1695925

registered interest
date	13/03/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Social Media: Regulation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with (a) her US counterpart and (b) other international partners on regulation of social media platforms owned by companies based in countries where governments can compel access to user data.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	18566
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2024 answer text <p>Ministers and Senior Officials from across the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) meet regularly with international counterparts, both bilaterally and in multilateral fora, on a range of issues. This includes social media platforms, online safety, ownership and access to data, including related to companies based overseas. The United States is a key international partner in these areas and the Government works closely with US partners including under the US-UK Comprehensive Dialogue on Technology and Data.</p><p> </p><p>The Government does not comment on discussions relating to specific cases/companies but will continue to work with partners to monitor and take appropriate steps to mitigate threats to UK data from all sources, including using regulation where necessary.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 21/03/2024 09:40:07 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1551496

registered interest
date	14/12/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Social Media: Regulation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to increase regulation of social media companies in order to manage security threats to users.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	110701
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2022 answer text <p>The Online Safety Bill will impose duties on companies that enable the sharing of user-generated content, including social media companies, to tackle illegal content on their services. Social media companies will need to understand the risk of illegal content appearing on their services, and take steps to prevent users from encountering such content. This will include illegal content that poses a security threat to users, for example terrorist content. The Bill is currently progressing through Parliament.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 20/12/2022 16:07:47 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1456024

registered interest
date	30/03/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Social Media: Regulation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether Ofcom will be allocated extra resources when the regulation of social media platforms becomes part of its remit.
tabling member constituency	Ogmore
tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
uin	150246
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2022 answer text <p>The positive funding outcome secured through the 2021 Spending Review enables us to deliver against the government’s commitment to make the UK the safest place to be online. Ofcom will receive a total of £88.64m for the financial years 2022/23 and 2023/24. In 2024/25 Ofcom should be self-funding its online safety work through an annual fee on industry.</p><p>This funding will ensure that Ofcom has the resources it needs to establish its online safety functions for the successful implementation of the Online Safety legislation which has now been introduced in Parliament.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 19/04/2022 10:13:42 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

1362704

registered interest
date	22/10/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Social Media: Regulation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what further (1) steps they will take, and (2) sanctions they will apply, against social media outlets that fail to protect users from offensive content.
tabling member printed	Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown
uin	HL3358
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2021 answer text <p>The Government is introducing new laws which will require companies to improve user safety online, particularly to tackle illegal content and protect children online. The biggest social media companies will need to set clear standards for content that could cause significant physical or psychological harm to adults and enforce them consistently. This will help ensure adult users are empowered to manage their own online safety.</p><p>The Government is committed to protecting free speech online, including the right to express controversial opinions that some may consider offensive. Companies and Ofcom will have duties that ensure freedom of expression is protected.</p><p>Ofcom will have a suite of enforcement powers to use against companies who fail to fulfil their duties, including substantial fines. There is also a deferred power to bring in new criminal offences for senior managers who fail to ensure their company provides full information to Ofcom. We are looking at how we can bring these sanctions into force faster.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 05/11/2021 13:47:33 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	655 label Biography information for Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown

1315152

registered interest
date	17/05/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Social Media: Regulation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring social media companies to report on the algorithms they use to monitor online hate speech on their platforms and any biases found within those algorithms.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	2284
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2021 answer text <p>Hate speech is completely unacceptable in an open and tolerant society. Our new laws will mean social media companies must keep promises to their users about their standards and stamp out this sort of abuse. Companies will need to take steps to mitigate the risks of harm associated with their algorithms. This will apply in the case of illegal content and, in particular, companies will need to ensure that systems for targeting content to children, such as the use of algorithms, protect them from harmful material.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Ofcom will have a range of powers at its disposal to help it assess whether companies are fulfilling their duties. The largest and most high risk companies will also be required to produce transparency reports, which will include information about the steps companies are taking to protect users. These reports may include information about the processes and tools in place to address illegal and harmful content and activity, including, where appropriate, tools to identify, flag, block or remove illegal and harmful content.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Gosport answering member printed Caroline Dinenage question first answered 21/05/2021 13:30:24 answering member 4008 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Dinenage
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1228048

registered interest
date	27/07/2020
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Social Media: Regulation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) Google, (2) Twitter, (3) Facebook, and (4) other social media sites, about (a) the action, and (b) the time, those companies take to remove (i) racist, (ii) anti-Semitic, (iii) abusive, (iv) criminal, and (v) illegal, content online.
tabling member printed	Baroness Kennedy of Cradley
uin	HL7371
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/08/2020 answer text <p>Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with social media platforms such as Google, Twitter and Facebook on a range of issues, including hate speech, abusive and illegal online content. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We are aiming to publish the full government response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation later this year which will outline the detailed proposals for keeping users safe online. We will continue to engage with industry representatives as we finalise proposals and move towards legislation.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/08/2020 13:34:43 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4303 label Biography information for Baroness Kennedy of Cradley

1127021

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Social Media: Regulation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of social media regulators in keeping up with innovation in large technology companies.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL15782
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/05/2019 answer text <p>Through the Digital Charter, the Government is focused on making the internet work for everyone - for citizens, businesses and society as a whole. The introduction of the new Data Protection Act, the Online Harms White Paper and the establishment of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation are important steps to ensure we have innovation-friendly regulation that encourages the tech sector and provides stability for businesses. Through this work we will protect citizens, increase public trust in new technologies, and create the best possible basis on which the digital economy and society can thrive.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Ashton of Hyde question first answered 29/05/2019 13:26:03 answering member 4247 label Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1039106

registered interest
date	10/01/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Social Media: Regulation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what statutory options for the regulation of social media companies his Department plans to include in the White Paper on online harm.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	207172
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2019 answer text <p>The Government is publishing a White Paper this year. It will set out a range of legislative and non-legislative measures detailing how we will tackle online harms and set clear responsibilities for tech companies to keep UK citizens safe online. Protecting children from abuse and exploitation online will be a central component of the White Paper.</p><p>We are currently exploring options for a strengthened regulatory approach. As part of that we are engaging a broad range of stakeholders. It is not the Government's practice to provide details of Ministerial meetings which are held as part of the process of policy development and delivery.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 207173 207174 207175 question first answered 17/01/2019 16:34:31 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1039108

registered interest
date	10/01/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Social Media: Regulation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating a regulator to tackle online harms on social media platforms; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	207174
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2019 answer text <p>The Government is publishing a White Paper this year. It will set out a range of legislative and non-legislative measures detailing how we will tackle online harms and set clear responsibilities for tech companies to keep UK citizens safe online. Protecting children from abuse and exploitation online will be a central component of the White Paper.</p><p>We are currently exploring options for a strengthened regulatory approach. As part of that we are engaging a broad range of stakeholders. It is not the Government's practice to provide details of Ministerial meetings which are held as part of the process of policy development and delivery.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 207172 207173 207175 question first answered 17/01/2019 16:34:31 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman