Social Media: Harassment and Stalking
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to address the role of social media companies in enabling (a) harassment and (b) stalking through their platforms.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan
The Online Safety Act since its implementation in 2023 places legal duties on social media companies to tackle online harms, including harassment and stalking. Platforms must assess risks, swiftly remove illegal content, and implement measures to prevent abuse. They are also required to provide clear reporting tools. Ofcom, the independent regulator, is responsible for ensuring services are complying with their safety duties. The Act also introduced new communications offences, including cyber-flashing and threatening communications, strengthening protections against online harassment and stalking. The Secretary of State is taking steps to make cyberflashing, and assisting and encouraging self-harm priority offences, in addition to stalking and harassment already being priority offences, to strengthen the act further.
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