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<p>It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect the UK against foreign
interference. That is why the Government has robust systems in place that bring together
government, civil society and private sector organisations to monitor and respond
to interference in whatever form it takes.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>During times
of heightened vulnerability such as elections or the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government
stands up Counter Disinformation Unit. The Unit provides a comprehensive picture of
the extent, scope and reach of mis- and disinformation, and works with social media
platforms to ensure appropriate action is taken to address it, in line with their
terms and conditions.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We engage regularly with social
media companies and welcome the positive steps many of them have taken particularly
in response to misinformation around COVID-19 vaccines. Platforms have updated terms
of service and made technical changes to their products, but they need to do more.
We continue to put pressure on them to respond quickly and effectively to the threat
posed by false information and online manipulation.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The
Government is developing and seeking input to inform an ambitious set of legislative
proposals to counter these threats and strengthen our ability to deter, withstand
and respond to such activity. The Home Office’s upcoming Counter State Threats legislation
will provide the security services and law enforcement agencies with the tools they
need to tackle the evolving threat from hostile activity by states and actors.</p><p><strong>
</strong></p><p>We have also published the draft Online Safety Bill, which will bring
in a legal duty of care and give companies clear legal responsibilities to improve
user safety. The new laws will have robust and proportionate measures to deal with
disinformation that could cause significant physical or psychological harm to an individual,
such as anti-vaccination content and falsehoods about COVID-19.</p><p> </p>
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