Source · Select Committees · Petitions Committee
Second Report - Tackling online abuse
Petitions Committee
HC 766
Published 1 February 2022
Recommendations
2
Accepted
As part of its role as the new online safety regulator, we recommend that Ofcom...
Recommendation
As part of its role as the new online safety regulator, we recommend that Ofcom should regularly report on the incidence of online abuse, illegal hate speech, and Violence Against Women and Girls content on the largest social media platforms. …
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Government Response Summary
The government stated the Online Safety Bill will require large service providers to publish annual transparency reports on online harms, and Ofcom will produce its own report, gather data, and conduct risk assessments and reviews to understand prevalence.
4
Rejected
Para 38
It is appropriate for legal but harmful content to be included in the scope of...
Recommendation
It is appropriate for legal but harmful content to be included in the scope of the Online Safety Bill. The balance of evidence we heard suggests that it is necessary to address this content in the Bill to help protect …
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Government Response Summary
The government rejects including a comprehensive indication of harmful content in primary legislation, stating they will use secondary legislation to designate priority harmful content after consulting with Ofcom. This approach aims to balance certainty for businesses with the flexibility to adapt to emerging harms.
5
Accepted in Part
Para 44
The Government’s online safety proposals do not go far enough in acknowledging and seeking to...
Recommendation
The Government’s online safety proposals do not go far enough in acknowledging and seeking to tackle the heightened levels of abuse faced by some communities online. While the requirement for Ofcom to consult with civil society groups in Tackling Online …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees that companies should consider risks to different user groups and has amended the Bill's risk assessment provisions. Companies will now be required to consider the risk of harm to individuals with certain characteristics or group memberships, including protected characteristics, but does not address additional user advocacy arrangements.
6
Rejected
Para 45
We recommend that the Online Safety Bill should include a statutory duty for the Government...
Recommendation
We recommend that the Online Safety Bill should include a statutory duty for the Government to consult with civil society organisations representing children and users who are most affected by online abuse on the legislation’s ongoing effectiveness at tackling online …
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Government Response Summary
The government rejected the recommendation for a statutory duty to consult civil society, explaining that the Secretary of State has flexibility to consult as appropriate and Ofcom already has extensive consultation duties under the Bill.
7
Accepted
Para 46
We recommend that the Online Safety Bill should include abuse based on the characteristics protected...
Recommendation
We recommend that the Online Safety Bill should include abuse based on the characteristics protected under the Equality Act and hate crime legislation as priority harmful content in the primary legislation. It should also list hate crime and Violence Against …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees to list hate crime and Violence Against Women and Girls offences as priority illegal content in the Online Safety Bill, detailing specific included offences, and announced this change on February 5th.
8
Accepted
Para 47
The risk assessments platforms will be required to carry out under the new online safety...
Recommendation
The risk assessments platforms will be required to carry out under the new online safety regulatory framework must not treat all users as being equally at risk from abusive content or behaviour. Instead, we recommend that platforms should be required …
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Government Response Summary
The government has accepted the recommendation, stating they have amended the risk assessment provisions in the Online Safety Bill to require companies to specifically consider risks to individuals with certain characteristics or group memberships.
10
Accepted
The Government must ensure the Online Safety Bill’s safety duties relating to content harmful to...
Recommendation
The Government must ensure the Online Safety Bill’s safety duties relating to content harmful to children apply across a sufficiently comprehensive range of platforms to prevent young people continuing to be able to access or encounter abusive or other harmful …
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Government Response Summary
The government states the Online Safety Bill is designed to bring high-risk services into scope, and the child user condition ensures protections for children on any in-scope services they are likely to access. They assert this approach is targeted and proportionate, with enforceable requirements for services to assess and review child access.
11
Rejected
Para 54
Abusive content hosted on smaller platforms can play a significant role in helping to encourage...
Recommendation
Abusive content hosted on smaller platforms can play a significant role in helping to encourage prejudicial attitudes or even real-world harm. Failure to address this content would risk significantly undermining the potential impact of the proposed online safety legislation in …
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Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation to apply duties for legal but harmful content to a wider range of platforms, arguing that it is not appropriate to require removal of legal content and that the current proportionate categorisation focuses on high-reach Category 1 services.
12
Rejected
Para 55
We recommend that the Online Safety Bill requires smaller (non-category 1) platforms to take steps...
Recommendation
We recommend that the Online Safety Bill requires smaller (non-category 1) platforms to take steps to protect users from content that is legal but harmful to adults, with a particular focus on ensuring these platforms cannot be used to host …
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Government Response Summary
The government rejects requiring smaller platforms to tackle legal but harmful content to adults, stating it is not appropriate to mandate interference with legal content. They reaffirm the Bill's proportionate approach, which focuses these duties on high-reach Category 1 services.
13
Deferred
Para 60
The Online Safety Bill should retain the provision in the draft Bill to hold platforms...
Recommendation
The Online Safety Bill should retain the provision in the draft Bill to hold platforms liable for failing to consistently enforce their terms of service. We heard that this step would significantly improve users’ online experiences—especially those users most likely …
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Government Response Summary
The government states it will continue to keep the recommendation for a stronger legislative framework for legal but harmful content under consideration, while outlining existing Online Safety Bill provisions for child safety, Category 1 services, and Ofcom's enforcement role.
15
Rejected
We support calls for the Online Safety Bill to include a foundational duty on platforms...
Recommendation
We support calls for the Online Safety Bill to include a foundational duty on platforms to protect users from reasonably foreseeable risks of harm identified in their risk assessments, including harm arising from abusive content that is legal but harmful …
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Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation for a single foundational duty to protect users from foreseeable harm, arguing it would create an uncertain operating environment. However, it states the Bill already requires service providers to assess risks linked to service design and user functionalities.
17
Acknowledged
Para 78
The Government should monitor how effectively any new communications offences that are enacted—in particular, the...
Recommendation
The Government should monitor how effectively any new communications offences that are enacted—in particular, the Law Commission’s proposed harm-based offence—protect people from, and provide redress for victims of, online abuse, while also respecting freedom of expression online. We recommend that …
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Government Response Summary
The government welcomes the recommendations, confirming the Bill will incorporate the Law Commission’s proposed communications offences and stating it will monitor their implementation and impact once in force. They do not explicitly commit to publishing an initial review within two years, but note that notifiable offences are already collected and published by ONS.
18
Deferred
Para 81
We support the proposals in the Law Commission’s hate crime review to extend aggravated hate...
Recommendation
We support the proposals in the Law Commission’s hate crime review to extend aggravated hate crime offences across all characteristics protected under existing hate crime legislation, and to reform the ‘hostility’ motivation test to better reflect the nature of some …
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Government Response Summary
The government states it is carefully considering the recommendations set out in the Law Commission’s final report on Hate Crime Laws, including those to extend aggravated offences and reform the hostility motivation test, and will shortly publish a new strategy.
19
Deferred
Para 82
We recommend that the Government accepts the Law Commission’s proposals to extend the characteristics to...
Recommendation
We recommend that the Government accepts the Law Commission’s proposals to extend the characteristics to which aggravated hate crime offences can apply, and to reform the motivation test for hate crimes to include prejudice as well as hostility; and that …
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Government Response Summary
The government states it is carefully considering the Law Commission’s recommendations on hate crime laws and will shortly publish a new strategy for tackling hate crime. They did not respond to the specific ask of extending characteristics and reforming the motivation test.
21
Deferred
Alongside the introduction of the new communications offences, we recommend that the Government ensures the...
Recommendation
Alongside the introduction of the new communications offences, we recommend that the Government ensures the police and other law enforcement bodies have adequate resources to effectively investigate and prosecute communications, hate crime, and Violence Against Women and Girls offences committed …
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Government Response Summary
The government thanked the Committee and stated it is carefully considering the recommendations from the Law Commission’s report on 'Hate Crime Laws' and will shortly publish a new strategy to tackle hate crime, including online elements.
22
Accepted
Anonymous abuse online is significant in both its volume and impact.
Recommendation
Anonymous abuse online is significant in both its volume and impact. However, the evidence we heard suggested that tackling the abuse being perpetrated under the cloak of anonymity, rather than imposing restrictions on online anonymity, should be the focus of …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation, stating the Online Safety Bill already requires in-scope service providers to identify, mitigate, and manage risks associated with online anonymity. As part of risk assessments, all services must evaluate the role of anonymous profiles in spreading harmful content and implement appropriate protections.
23
Accepted
Para 93
As part of the risk assessments social media platforms will be required to carry out...
Recommendation
As part of the risk assessments social media platforms will be required to carry out under the new online safety regulation, we recommend that platforms should be required to evaluate the role played by anonymous accounts in creating and disseminating …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation, stating the Online Safety Bill already requires service providers to identify, mitigate, and manage risks associated with online anonymity, implementing appropriate protections as part of their risk assessments.
25
Acknowledged
Para 98
Social media platforms must have robust methods in place to trace users posting content that...
Recommendation
Social media platforms must have robust methods in place to trace users posting content that violates the platform’s terms of service, and must effectively enforce their own sanctions against such users. We recommend that, as part of the new online …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the recommendation and states it will continue to keep it under consideration. They note the Online Safety Bill requires companies to assess risks, including those from anonymity, and that Ofcom’s codes of practice could include steps for identity verification and addressing repeat offenders, with robust enforcement powers.
26
Acknowledged
Para 102
Where there is a need to trace and investigate accounts posting potentially illegal content, this...
Recommendation
Where there is a need to trace and investigate accounts posting potentially illegal content, this is usually technically possible even if the account is publicly anonymous. However, the police’s ability to trace accounts posting such content at scale is constrained …
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Government Response Summary
The government states it has engaged with law enforcement to review police powers for tackling illegal anonymous abuse, and the outcome will inform its position, but does not commit to publishing the conclusions or a timetable for changes. They add that police resource allocation is for Chief Constables, while the Home Office funds specialist investigation teams.
27
Accepted
Para 108
While we heard that there is insufficient evidence to determine that anonymity is the main...
Recommendation
While we heard that there is insufficient evidence to determine that anonymity is the main driver of abusive behaviour online, we recognise that a proportion of abusive content comes from anonymous users. Giving users the option to filter out content …
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Government Response Summary
The government welcomes and agrees with the recommendation, detailing new user verification and empowerment duties in the Bill that will allow adult users to verify their identity and control interactions with unverified users.
28
Accepted
We recommend that the Government set an expectation that the largest social media platforms should...
Recommendation
We recommend that the Government set an expectation that the largest social media platforms should offer users the option to filter content by user verification status and block content from users who have chosen not to verify their account. User …
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Government Response Summary
The government welcomes and agrees with the recommendation, stating new user verification and empowerment duties in the Bill will require Category 1 services to offer identity verification and tools for users to control interactions with unverified accounts, with Ofcom guiding on verification methods.
29
Accepted
Alongside the legal, technological and regulatory responses to online abuse we have considered in this...
Recommendation
Alongside the legal, technological and regulatory responses to online abuse we have considered in this report, there is also a need to achieve long-term cultural and behavioural change that tackles online abuse by discouraging people from posting such content to …
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Government Response Summary
The government highlights its existing Online Media Literacy Strategy and Action Plan, which includes funding organisations, supporting teachers, and establishing a taskforce to empower users with the skills and knowledge for safe online choices.
Conclusions (7)
1
Conclusion
Not Addressed
Para 21
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 …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the devastating impact of online abuse and describes how the Online Safety Bill will ensure illegal abuse is handled and children are protected, but it does not specifically address the recommendation to assess and track the scale of this behaviour more precisely.
3
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Our predecessor Petitions Committee’s report concluded that self-regulation of social media had failed. Despite the user safety tools and innovations platforms have introduced since then, these companies have continued to place insufficient priority on user safety to protect users from abusive and hateful behaviour on their platforms, or ensure users …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the Committee's work and agrees on the devastating impact of online abuse, reaffirming its intention for the Online Safety Bill to end social media self-regulation and introduce accountability for the tech sector.
9
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 50
It is not acceptable that young people should see encountering abuse as just part of the online experience. We welcome the strength of the duties the draft Online Safety Bill would impose on platforms to help reduce the chance that children and young people will come across or be targeted …
Government Response Summary
The government maintains that the Online Safety Bill's child user condition already addresses the committee's concern about smaller platforms, as it applies to any service likely to attract a significant number of child users regardless of platform size.
14
Conclusion
Rejected
Para 66
The Government’s regulatory proposals should encourage social media companies to prevent or reduce the risk of users being harmed by abusive and hateful content in the first place, not just remove or otherwise deal with such content as it arises. However, the draft Online Safety Bill gives Ofcom very limited …
Government Response Summary
The government rejects reformulating the regulatory framework, arguing its current design creates specific duties for platforms to assess and mitigate risks for different harm categories, and provides proportionate systems to remove illegal and child-harming content. They believe this approach is effective and clear, rather than a broad foundational duty for proactive adult protection.
16
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 77
The Law Commission is right to recommend refocusing online communications offences onto the harm abusive messages can cause to victims. We welcome the Government’s commitment to adopt the proposed threatening and ‘harm-based’ communications offences. However, we also acknowledge the uncertainty and hesitation of some witnesses about how the new harm-based …
Government Response Summary
The government welcomes the committee's comments, confirms the Online Safety Bill will incorporate the Law Commission's recommended communications offences, and notes concerns about interpretation, stating the CPS is anticipated to update guidelines and implementation will be monitored.
20
Conclusion
Deferred
Para 85
Improvements in the drafting of the criminal law are irrelevant if these offences are not enforced. Many witnesses suggested the police did not have the resources they needed to be able to effectively investigate online abuse and hate crime. This undermines the important role played by the criminal law as …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the concern about enforcement and police resources, stating it is carefully considering relevant recommendations from the Law Commission and will shortly publish a new strategy for tackling hate crime.
24
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 97
Social media platforms told us they already have rules against previously banned users returning, as well as the tools and data needed to identify users and prevent them starting new accounts. However, the evidence we heard suggests this is not a priority for them, and that some users are taking …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's observation and will keep it under consideration, outlining how the Online Safety Bill will require services to assess and mitigate risks from anonymous abuse, with Ofcom setting steps for enforcement against repeat offenders.