Select committee: Petitions Committee
Conclusion 1
Second Report - Tackling online abuse
Published 1 Feb 2022
Paragraph 21
Petitions Committee Tackling Online Abuse All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Online abuse can have a devastating impact on those who are exposed to it, and we are alarmed at evidence suggesting the problem has worsened since the covid-19 pandemic began. While tackling this issue is important in making the online environment safer for everyone, it must be recognised that online abuse is disproportionately targeted at certain groups. The Government is right to acknowledge the extent of this problem but should assess and track the scale of this behaviour more precisely and comprehensively.
From: Petitions Committee, Second Report - Tackling online abuse (HC 766), paragraph 21, 1 February 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 28 March 2022 (deadline 1 April 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the Committee's report and agrees with a number of its recommendations, while taking a different approach to others, including a statutory consultation duty, legal but harmful content on smaller platforms and a single foundational duty.
- On Recommendation 4, it agrees that hate crime and Violence against Women and Girls offences should be listed as priority illegal offences on the face of the Bill, a change announced on 5 February.
- On Recommendation 3, it does not think a statutory duty to consult civil society organisations is "necessary", citing the existing consultation provisions in the draft Bill.
- On Recommendation 7, it does not think it "appropriate" to require platforms to remove or interfere with legal content, so the duties on legal but harmful content apply to Category 1 services.
- On Recommendations 10 and 11, it is "carefully considering" the Law Commission's hate crime report and will "shortly publish" a new hate crime strategy, without stating a date.