Responding to the Government’s response to the Online Harms White
Paper consultation, Cllr James Jamieson, Chairman of the Local
Government Association, said:
“Online abuse, intimidation and threats try to undermine
democratic decision making by generating fear in those who
represent our communities.
“One of our most pressing concerns is the increasing
incidents of intimidation and abuse of our elected representatives.
These attacks risk the personal safety of councillors, undermine
local democracy and can put off prospective candidates from
standing.
“Plans to appoint Ofcom as an online harms regulator is a
step in the right direction and we hope it will go some way to
reducing abuse and intimidation of elected officials and all
other users of online platforms, including children and
vulnerable adults.
“Nobody should feel intimidated or scared and abuse online
or offline should not be tolerated. We look forward to working
with government to build a thriving digital economy that is
trusted by and protects everyone in the UK.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
The LGA developed a ‘councillors’ guide to handling
intimidation’ which you can view here - https://www.local.gov.uk/councillors-guide-handling-intimidation
The LGA is working with organisations across the UK and
developed a programme of work entitled ‘civility in public
life’ - https://www.local.gov.uk/civility-public-life
