Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring social media platforms to remove gang scoreboards of (a) knife crimes and (b) other assaults.

Under the Government’s Safer Streets Mission, we have committed to ambitious plans to halve knife crime in a decade. As part of this ambition, we are committed to going after the gangs who incite and commit violence on our streets.

The use of social media platforms by Urban Street Gangs to keep ‘scoreboards’ of serious acts of violence is inhumane and will not be tolerated.

Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom will have significant powers to help stem the spread of content on social media that incites violence or threats to kill. Once fully implemented, the Online Safety Act will require platforms to take robust action to address illegal content.

We are clear that tech companies must take proactive action to embed public safety in their system designs and prevent users encountering harmful material on their platforms. To ensure companies comply with the legislation, Ofcom will have powers to issues large fines of up to 10% of annual qualifying turnover.