Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 60
60
Accepted
Rising mis- and disinformation threatens democracy and erodes trust in politics
Conclusion
The dissemination of information and differing perspectives remains central to a healthy democracy and is essential to effective elections. This has been threatened by the rise in mis- and dis- information, something that has contributed to the decline in trust in the UK’s political system in general and politicians in particular. There is no easy solution to this, and electoral law and policy has struggled to keep pace. (Conclusion, Paragraph 158)
Government Response Summary
The government outlines the Online Safety Act (OSA) and its provisions, which include duties for platforms to remove illegal content, address incitement to violence, and tackle foreign interference, demonstrating existing measures to address mis- and disinformation.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Regarding online harassment and intimidation, while the primary responsibility for harmful content rests with those individuals and groups who create and post it, social media platforms have a responsibility to keep users safe. The Online Safety Act (OSA) lays the foundation for strong protections against illegal content and harmful material for children online. Services covered by the OSA will need to assess the risk of their services facilitating illegal content and implement measures to manage and mitigate this risk. The OSA introduced a number of communication offences, which were commenced in January 2024, including the threatening communications offence. This offence captures communications which convey a threat of serious harm or death, where the person sending them intended that, or was reckless as to whether, an individual encountering the communication would fear that the threat would be carried out. This includes communications such as a threat to life, rape, or serious injury; or causing serious financial harm. It should act as a deterrent to those who may seek to send messages threatening the safety of individuals. The illegal content duties within the OSA came into effect in April 2025. They require platforms to remove illegal content. Under the OSA, platforms have a duty to address content that contains incitement to violence; and where they are aware of it, content that amounts to harm, intimidation, or certain deception intended to change someone’s vote or their intention to do so. Furthermore, the OSA will require all services to proactively tackle Foreign Interference Offence content on their sites to address illegal, state-backed attempts to undermine UK democratic, political, and legal processes. Ofcom has strong enforcement powers where platforms fail to comply with their duties. These include powers to issue fines of up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue and to ask the courts to block access to websites.