Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the existing legislation to tackle online impersonations for the purpose of coercive control on (a) social media and (b) dating applications.

We know that perpetrators can use technology to coerce and control victims of domestic abuse. Coercive and Controlling Behaviour legislation may apply if the victim and perpetrator are personally connected and if the behaviour takes place repeatedly or continuously. On 5 April 2023, we extended the offence to remove the co-habitation requirement, so it applies regardless of whether the victim and perpetrator live together.

The landmark Online Safety Bill, which is currently undergoing its passage through the House of Lords, will strengthen users’ protection from coercive control online. All companies that host user-generated content or allow users to interact with one another and search services are in scope of the Online Safety Bill, including social media and online dating platforms.

To ensure that individuals who are a victim of controlling or coercive behaviour (CCB) perpetrated using technology are adequately protected, we have added CCB to the list of priority offences in the Bill. This highlights this form of abuse as one of the most serious and prevalent types of illegal content and activity online, which companies must take proactive measures to tackle.

Finally, through the Online Safety Bill, users will be better able to report abuse, including abuse perpetrated via online impersonations, and they should expect to receive an appropriate response from the platform. This will act against criminals using the internet as a weapon with which to threaten and control individuals online.