Which? responds to scams not being mentioned as part of the Online Safety Bill in The Queen's Speech

Anabel Hoult, CEO of Which?, said:

“It is right that the government is giving the major online platforms we interact with every day a legal responsibility to protect their users. However in order to truly stamp out criminal content and activity online, the government must make it clear that scams are within the scope of the forthcoming Online Safety Bill.

“Online scams have a devastating financial and emotional impact on victims – and too often platforms like Facebook and Google are leaving their users worryingly exposed to criminals operating on their sites.

“The current approach of self-regulation is not fit for purpose. The case for including scams in the Online Safety Bill is overwhelming, with industry, regulators and consumer groups all calling for urgent action to tackle online scams and for platforms to better protect their users from fraudsters.”

Notes to editors

• Coalition of organisations urges government to use Online Safety Bill to protect people from an avalanche of online scams