Amend the Online Harms Bill to take stronger action against misinformation

The Online Harms Bill does not adequately deal with the threat misinformation poses to political participation and trust. It needs concrete measures to boost media literacy skills to allow people to spot false information online, especially through the education system.

This petition was rejected on 14th Jun 2021 for not petitioning for a specific action

The Petition Committee commented:
Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action. We're not sure exactly what you'd like the Government or Parliament to do. We understand you want the Government to take further action to promote media literacy among UK citizens, including through the planned Online Safety Bill, but we're not sure exactly how you'd like the Government to take to achieve this. For example, the Government has already committed (in its December 2020 response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation) to developing an online media literacy strategy, and section 8 of the draft Online Safety Bill expands and strengthens the duty on OFCOM to promote media literacy, including in relation to online media. You could start a new petition explaining clearly what further action you'd like the Government or Parliament to take.

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As shown in a recent House of Commons Library report, trust in government has decreased significantly in recent years. This is partly due to online misinformation, which creates an increasingly polarised and toxic public space. Misinformation has also undermined confidence in public health at a critical time in the COVID-19 pandemic.

In particular, young people are far less likely to vote, and often engage with politics through social media, leaving them especially vulnerable to misinformation.