Committee calls for fines on social media companies who fail to prevent repeated abusive behaviour online
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“Online abuse is a silent menace, and this report sets out our
recommendations to help tackle the enormous harm it causes and
ensure perpetrators face appropriate consequences for their
actions.” The Petitions Committee has today launched its
report, “Tackling Online Abuse”, which calls on the Government to
impose fines on social media companies that fail to prevent people
who have been banned from their platforms for abusive behaviour
from setting up new...Request free
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“Online abuse is a silent menace, and this report sets out our recommendations to help tackle the enormous harm it causes and ensure perpetrators face appropriate consequences for their actions.”
The Petitions Committee has today launched its report, “Tackling Online Abuse”, which calls on the Government to impose fines on social media companies that fail to prevent people who have been banned from their platforms for abusive behaviour from setting up new accounts. This new report follows the Committee’s inquiry last year into tackling online abuse, which was prompted by a number of e-petitions calling for action to be taken on this issue. In 2021, a petition calling for verified ID to be made a requirement for opening a social media account received almost 700,000 signatures in six months, with over 500,000 people signing in the weeks following the racist abuse aimed at England footballers after the 2020 European Championships final. This was the most popular petition created on the Committee’s website in 2021, showing the scale of concern among the public about the risk of facing abuse on these platforms and the desire to see abusive users held accountable. Having heard from petition creators Bobby Norris and Katie Price in 2020, in a series of evidence sessions in late 2021, the Committee heard from a range of witnesses including civil society and campaign groups, experts on legal, regulatory and technological responses to online harms, and social media companies Meta, TikTok and Twitter. It also questioned Chris Philp MP, Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy on the issues raised in these evidence sessions. The Committee also sought the views of young people on how the Government and social media companies should respond to online abuse via a series of specially designed sessions with secondary school pupils, and over 500 students’ suggestions were fed back to the Committee. The report welcomes the Government’s planned Online Safety Bill and calls for the duties it would place on social media companies to deal with abuse aimed at adults on their platforms to be strengthened. However, it also acknowledges that online abuse cannot be tackled just by changing what people can see or post on social media, and the problem must also be addressed by challenging the attitudes that fuel such behaviour and ensuring abusive users face legal sanctions where appropriate. Key recommendations made in the report include:
Chair of the Petitions Committee, Catherine McKinnell MP, said: “Online abuse is a silent menace, and this report sets out our recommendations to help tackle the enormous harm it causes and ensure perpetrators face appropriate consequences for their actions.
“We spoke to school students across the country who told us they felt that experiencing online abuse is simply a normal part of being online. This is incredibly alarming, and highlights how important it is that we address this issue.
“The problem of banned users returning to social media platforms and continuing to send abuse was raised in Bobby Norris’ petition, which prompted our inquiry. We heard that social media companies need to put a higher priority on preventing this kind of repeat offending, and the Government should ensure this is part of companies’ new online safety obligations.
“Even where abuse may not reach a criminal threshold, it can still significantly impact people who receive it, including not just their health but also their ability to express themselves freely online. Social media platforms should be taking proactive steps to create safer online spaces for all.
“I will be leading a debate on online abuse later this month to enable MPs to discuss the important issues raised by the petitions we have received on this issue, the Government’s Online Safety Bill, and the recommendations we have made in our report.
“We look forward to receiving the Government’s response to our report, and the Committee will continue to hold the Government to account on this issue on behalf of petitioners as the Online Safety Bill makes its way through Parliament.
The Petitions Committee have submitted the report to the Government for consideration, and expects to receive a prompt response from the Government on this issue. ENDS Notes to editors The Committee’s work into tackling online abuse was prompted by two petitions in particular, one started by Bobby Norris and one started by Katie Price:
The Petitions Committee has scheduled a debate on these two petitions for Monday 28 February. The debate will be opened by Catherine McKinnell MP, the Chair of the Petitons Committee. The Government will send a Minister to respond. Want to start a petition on behalf of your news outlet but unsure how? Contact the Committee Media Officers Gary Connor or Hannah Olbison on 0207 219 0969 or hocmediacorporate@parliament.uk. For news and updates follow the Petitions Committee on Twitter @HoCPetitions. Find further information on Petitions Committee, including details of how the Committee handles e-petitions, at: www.parliament.uk/petitions. To unsubscribe from these emails, please contact hocmediacorporate@parliament.uk. Petitions debates allow MPs from across the House to discuss the important issues raised by one or more petitions, and put their concerns to Government Ministers. The Petitions Committee is set up by the House of Commons to look at e-petitions and public (paper) petitions. It can:
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