Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act 2023 in protecting children from harmful gendered content, including misogynistic content and harmful stereotypes, where that content is recommended or amplified by social media platforms’ algorithmic systems.

The Online Safety Act requires platforms to address algorithmic risks, including promotion of illegal content and content harmful to children, including hateful misogynistic content.

We expect companies to implement Ofcom’s recommended measures for making platforms safer for women and girls, including deprioritising harmful content in recommender algorithms and de-monetising content promoting misogynistic abuse.

Ofcom undertakes and publishes research into online harms, including misogynistic content, which the Department draws on alongside external evidence.