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Written Question
Twitter: Harassment
Thursday 9th January 2020

Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with Twitter on moderating hate speech, harassment and bullying online.

Answered by Matt Warman

Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook on a range of issues, including moderating hate speech, harassment and bullying online. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the gov.uk website.


Written Question
Facebook: Harassment
Thursday 9th January 2020

Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with Facebook on moderating hate speech, harassment and bullying online.

Answered by Matt Warman

Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook on a range of issues, including moderating hate speech, harassment and bullying online. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the gov.uk website.


Written Question
Twitter: Harassment
Monday 28th October 2019

Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what advice is included in the statutory guidance for 2020 on (a) Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and (b) Health Education to minimise social media harassment of young adults using Twitter.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The Department wants schools to equip their pupils with the knowledge needed to make the best use of the internet and technology in a safe, considered and respectful way.

Through the guidance for the new subjects of relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education, teachers will address online safety and appropriate behaviour in an age appropriate way.

This topic is threaded throughout the guidance which sets out, for example, that pupils should be taught about the rules and principles for keeping safe online, including how to recognise risks, harmful content and behaviours, and how and to whom to report issues. Pupils should also be made aware of the relevant legal provisions when key topics are being taught, including online behaviours.

The guidance also refers to some key publications about internet safety which can be used by teachers and others in teaching about this topic. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.

This teaching will complement the existing computing curriculum, which covers the principles of online safety at all key stages, with progression in the content to reflect the different and escalating risks that pupils face. This includes how to use technology safely, responsibly, respectfully and securely, and where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies.

There are other curriculum subjects which include content relevant to teaching pupils how to use the internet appropriately and safely. For example, citizenship education covers media literacy, distinguishing fact from opinion and the role and responsibility of the media in informing and shaping public opinion.

The Department has also published non-statutory guidance, ‘Teaching Online Safety’ in schools. This outlines how schools can ensure their pupils understand how to stay safe and behave online, as part of these existing curriculum requirements and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools.


Written Question
Twitter: Harassment
Monday 21st October 2019

Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the effect of anonymous (a) abuse and (b) threats made on Twitter on teenage mental health.

Answered by Nadine Dorries

We have no current plans to make such formal assessment.


Written Question
Twitter: Harassment
Monday 21st October 2019

Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of Twitter's appeals process for people that have suffered abuse on Twitter.

Answered by Matt Warman

The Online Harms White Paper sets out our plans for world-leading legislation to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online. We intend to establish in law a new duty of care on companies towards their users, overseen by an independent regulator. The duty of care will ensure companies have appropriate systems and processes in place to deal with harmful content on their services to keep their users safe. Compliance with this duty of care will be overseen by an independent regulator, which will have a range of enforcement powers.

As part of the new duty of care, we will expect companies, where appropriate, to have effective and easy-to-access user complaints functions, which will be overseen by the regulator. Companies will need to respond to users' complaints within an appropriate timeframe and to take action consistent with the expectations set out in the regulatory framework


Written Question
Twitter: Harassment
Monday 21st October 2019

Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 8 October 2019 to Question 294115 on Children: Social Media, if he will make an assessment of the effect on children's mental health of anonymous (a) abuse and (b) threats made on Twitter.

Answered by Nadine Dorries

We have no plans to make such assessment.


Written Question
Twitter: Harassment
Monday 21st October 2019

Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on anonymous abuse and threats on Twitter.

Answered by Matt Warman

Ministers have regular discussions with their ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including online abuse.


Written Question
Twitter: Harassment
Monday 21st October 2019

Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the effect on mental health of anonymous (a) abuse and (b) threats made on Twitter.

Answered by Nadine Dorries

We have no plans to make such assessment.


Written Question
Twitter: Harassment
Thursday 17th October 2019

Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Answer of 8 October 2019 to Question 294112, what discussions she has had with representatives from Twitter on anonymous abuse and threats on that platform.

Answered by Matt Warman

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer to PQ 294112 from 8 October 2019.


Written Question
Twitter: Harassment
Thursday 17th October 2019

Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, with reference to the Answer of 8 October to Question 294685 on Social Media: Harrassment, whether he has made an assessment of the effect on political debate and discussion of anonymous abuse and threats on Twitter.

Answered by Jacob Rees-Mogg

I refer the Hon. member to my previous response to his question 294685 on a similar subject. People on all sides of the political divide must be able to debate freely without being subject to personal threats and abuse. The Government recognises that rising levels of intimidation in public life can prevent talented people, particularly women and those from minority backgrounds, from standing for public office. I would be happy to meet the Hon. member to discuss any particular concerns he would like to raise with me on this issue.