Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take, if any, in response to Meta promoting posts on Facebook in the last fortnight from verified accounts of Russian embassies, including threats to harm the UK in response to its support for Ukraine.

My Department has asked Meta to investigate these allegations. Under the Online Safety Act, regulated services must assess and mitigate the risk of illegal content and activity, including content related to the Foreign Interference Offence. Ofcom is responsible for enforcing those duties. Meta's policies prohibit direct and credible threats of physical harm, violence and incitement to violence. Decisions on whether content breaches a platform's rules are currently a matter for the platform. We expect companies to take robust action where content breaches either their legal duties or platform policies. From 2027, the largest platforms will be required to apply and enforce their published terms of service consistently and transparently.