Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken with (a) law enforcement agencies and (b) internet service providers to remove social media posts that (i) sell and market drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and (ii) commit other offences in the last (A) 12 months and (B) five years.

Drugs devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities. As part of our 10-year Drugs Strategy, the Government is committed to driving down drugs supply in the UK, including through tough law enforcement against the sale of drugs online. Law enforcement agencies work with internet service providers to shut down UK-based websites found to be selling drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and committing other offences.

Further measures to tackle the sale of controlled drugs and other offences are included in the Online Safety Bill, which was introduced on 17 March 2022, and is currently undergoing passage through Parliament. Under this legislation tech companies will need to remove and limit the spread of illegal content online. This means less illegal content online and when it does appear it will be removed quicker. Illegal content covered will include terrorist material, child sexual exploitation and abuse material, hate crime, fraud and the sale of illegal drugs or weapons.

The Government has invested in specialist investigation teams at regional and national level to provide the relevant knowledge, skills and capabilities for enforcement online. This includes a number of harm-specific units that refer illegal content to social media companies so it can be taken down, in accordance with platforms’ terms and conditions.