Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle (a) misinformation and (b) disinformation in elections.

The Government takes the integrity and security of our democratic processes seriously, including from the threat posed by mis/disinformation.

The UK’s Online Safety Act captures disinformation aimed at disrupting elections where it is a criminal offence in the scope of the regulatory framework. This includes the Foreign Interference Offence, which requires all in-scope companies to act against a range of state-linked disinformation and interference online.

As the department responsible for managing the risk posed by online mis/disinformation targeting electoral processes, DSIT also supports ongoing work through the government’s Defending Democracy Taskforce to tackle the full scope of threats to democracy.